


The Other Side of the Coin

by Cas_s_Honeybee, Dgray3994



Series: Blame it on Singer Series [8]
Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha - Freeform, Established Relationship, Freeform, Hunt Gone Wrong, Hunters in a werewolf world, Magic and demons, More tags to follow, Mostly teen wolf characters, Mostly the girls in this one, Not Supernatural werewolves, Peter's a weirdo, Scott can be an asshat, Yes we own a plane, beta, fluffy wolf puppy derek, human alpha, not sure what we're hunting, omega - Freeform, ten years after high school, winchesters/original characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:49:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 80,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24884113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cas_s_Honeybee/pseuds/Cas_s_Honeybee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dgray3994/pseuds/Dgray3994
Summary: When an old hunting friend calls Bobby for help, the girls find themselves on a plane headed towards Beacon Hills, California and straight into the wolves' den. With two dead bodies and a third recovering victim, Jai and Gwen are tasked with finding out something the McCall pack can't, who did it.But... as with everything in their lives, nothing comes easy or goes as planned when Derek Hale and Gwen become fast friends and she finds herself at odds with the alpha, Scott McCall.  Jai isn't fairing any better, having attracted the attention of Peter, Derek's eccentric uncle, while trying to help solve the case.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Gwen Bancroft, Derek Hale & Original Female Characters, Peter Hale & Original Female characters, Sam Winchester/Jai Lancing, Scott McCall & Original Female Characters, Stiles Stilinski & Original Female Characters
Series: Blame it on Singer Series [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1210602
Kudos: 2
Collections: Supernatural, Teen Wolf





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, all, this the first posting of this story. It's just the prologue while we gain a little traction in the word count department. We brought our girls over from the Supernatural world for our first crossover to Beacon Hills. They're taking this whole new kind of werewolf thing pretty well. We hope you stick around for what's to come.
> 
> *Tags to be added, more chapters coming up, but we don't have a posting schedule. Stay tuned.*

The Other Side of the Coin.

**Beacon Hills**

The emergency doors of Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital started to slide open, that mechanical parting that took forever to accomplish, but Chris Argent wasn’t a patient man, and there was no way he was waiting for them to do so completely before he slipped through. 

Down the hall, around the corner from the nurse’s reception desk, Chris spotted Scott, a young man, maybe twenty-eight, standing in the middle of the hallway, arms crossed with a perplexed look on his face as he stared down at his mother. Scott wasn’t an ordinary person, more to the point, he was a werewolf, an alpha, but that wasn’t the reason Argent was headed their way. It was what was behind that door they stood in front of that had his attention.

He stepped up beside Melissa McCall, gave her the best smile he could considering the grim circumstances and sighed. The dark-haired nurse finally found her ground, took a breath and swiped her key card to the door. Once inside the long hallway, she led them to a place they shouldn’t have been so familiar with, but after nearly ten years of dealing with the supernatural in a place like Beacon Hills, well, the morgue wasn’t an odd place to find your friends.

Stiles Stilinski, also twenty-eight, turned slowly in the direction of the approaching footsteps. He fought hard not to put his gloved hand to his mouth and chew on his fingernails, a habit that he’d never been able to break when he was scouring over case material no matter how many times he tried. It’s just how his brain worked, and right now, his brain was trucking along at a million miles a minute.

The doors opened, Argent walked through following Melissa and Scott as they continued whatever conversation they were having before with him quiet in the background, and he remained so until he stepped up alongside the autopsy table and all three sets of eyes were on him.

To say he was flabbergasted would have been an understatement, but looking down at the husk of what was once human and now laying before him, that probably came the closest to what he was feeling at that moment. 

The corpse, a man named James Marlow, had been thirty-two, athletic, in his prime with his music and was scheduled to play in the music festival portion of a two week celebration of Beacon Hills that weekend. Now, he was a mummy, not the technical term for it, but damn near close. There was no blood left in his body, his skin was dry and brittle, his eyes, what was left of them, were nearly bulging out of his head, and his skin had peeled back from his teeth. 

Argent had expected bloating, since the man had only been missing for about thirty-six hours at most, but there wasn’t any of that because there weren't any fluid or bodily functions left to bloat. Needless to say, Chris was just a bit of a loss.

“Anything?” Stiles asked, breaking the man from the spell that had come over him. 

“Not a damn thing,” Argent drew in a breath, which would have usually been a mistake, but there wasn’t even any scent of decay, rot, or general disgustingness and his eyes went right to Scott. The alpha werewolf was thinking the same thing, a curious look on his face as he leaned down closer to the thing on the able. Stiles cringed the closer Scott got.

“There’s nothing, it’s like he’s not even real,” and that got Scott to set his eyes on the only hunter in the room.

Argent turned to Melissa, who stood there quietly, letting the boys take in everything that she already knew. “You said there was another one?”

“Yeah, three weeks ago, we thought it was just a Halloween prank,” Melissa shrugged, because it was apparently common enough in Beacon Hills that of course they would shrug it off as a prank, and that sentence got Stiles to roll his eyes. Even as a deputy, he remembered seeing the paperwork. “They found it out on the Preserve, no name, no ID, and nothing that matched fingerprint or dental identification, so they disposed of it.”

“Of course, they did,” Stiles grumbled and shook his head. He paused in his need to rant, narrowed his eyes at nothing and tilted his head, as if he were hearing something, or maybe just thinking. “Wait,” and they did but it took the man a little bit longer to continue, “you said dental and fingerprint, but did they do a sample of his skin? DNA to prove he wasn’t human.”

“What are you thinking?” Scott whispered, watched his best friend’s brows go up and Scott understood at that moment. “Werewolf. If his or her DNA didn’t match a human, they could have matched a werewolf.”

“Right, because even in your basic form, you still come up as animal genetics.” Stiles shrugged, which only got a nod from him and both turned to Melissa, who looked too tired to deal with this shit. 

“I’ll go see what I can dig up, meanwhile, don’t let anyone see you.” She gave Scott a kiss on the cheek, ran her hand tenderly over Argent’s shoulder and fixed her eyes on Stiles. “Badge or not, we’re not authorized to be down here yet.”

“Goddit,” Stiles flicked a thumbs up at her and the three men watched as she left the room, before he scowled. “So, what are we thinking?”

“I think we’re going to need some help,” Argent crossed his arms and gazed down at the corpse again. “No cause of death, no fatal wounds, not a single thing to tell us why two people have become… this.” He sighed. “We’ve never come across anything like this before, and I think it’s just going to get worse.”

“So, we bring in help?” Scott bit down on his lip, eyes flaring red to look for something, anything that his power might pick up on the body, but he had nothing. “Who exactly would know anything about this? We don’t even know what category to drop this in.”

“Well, I have a feeling it has nothing to do with the Nemeton, and Lydia hasn’t used her banshee powers in months, so no screams from the Harbinger of Death.” Stiles grumped, yanking off the gloves so he could chew on the side of his nail. “There was a patient that came in last week. Her partner said she was sick, wilting away to nothing, but she only stayed a few days, got better and was shipped out to Utah, back home to recover some more, but other than that, there’s nothing close to what this guy went through.”

“Three victims in as many weeks.”

“You know what Dad says, one’s an incident.”

“Which we missed because they thought it was a hoax,” Argent finished.

“Yeah, two’s a coincidence.”

“And she was sent home recovering, or last we knew.” Scott added to make sure they were all on the same page.

“Three’s a pattern.” Stiles shrugged, looking between the two of them.

“I’m calling my contact.” Argent grabbed his cell out of his pocket, scrolled through his lists and hovered above the name.

“Wait, who are you bringing in?” There was worry in Scott’s voice. New people to the area was never a good thing, at least in his experience.

“Hunters, really unconventional hunters.” Argent’s blue eyes landed on Scott’s. “I’m warning you now, these two are not like anyone you have ever met. They don’t see our world, the wolves they’ve come across are nothing like you, but they’re the best that there is in the area of,” he gestured towards the corpse, “but they’re a little hard to get a hold of, and right now could probably be anywhere in the country.”

“So, how they hell are you going to find them?” Stiles gripped. “and why those two? You just said they're hunters that are hard to get a hold of, that gallivant the country, and are liable to kill us all because, what, they’re psycho?”

“Oh, they’re not psycho,” Argent smiled. “They’re out of their damn minds.”

~~~~~

**Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.**

Jai Lancing’s eyes were wide as she readied herself, set on her target, or more to the point, on the way the target was just about to charge, but she smiled, glanced over at Gwen Bancroft - who huffed in frustration - before she turned back to the creature before her.

No one believed Jackalopes existed but here she was playing with one, actually, being chased by one was a more accurate description as the thing with the pointy rack of antlers ducked its head and came at her. Jai laughed, turned and ran. To hell with that, she was booking her ass across the paddock. She knew there was no way to get away from him, she just had to keep moving, at least until Whiskey dropped from exhaustion and it had happened before. 

Gwen, however, was busy concentrating on the phone in her hand, earbud in her ear as she listened to the man on the other end describe what was going on across the country.

“Did you say Chris Argent?” Gwen stopped Bobby mid-rant and turned to Jai, who had finally just sat down in the middle of the open space and let the crypto flop down beside her. He was a good eight-five pounds and about four feet long, but he certainly wasn’t a dog, still, she scratched him between the ears and locked her eyes on Gwen. “The  _ hunter _ , Chris Argent?”

“What’s going on?” Jai questioned as Gwen came back to the rails and leaned on them. The shorter woman stood, shooed Whiskey from her side and picked up the other bud, placing it in her ear to listen in.

_ “Yes, that Argent.” _ Bobby sighed.  _ “He wouldn’t have called this in unless it was important. He tends to keep Beacon County in his pocket and away from our kind of hunting, but what’s going on up there isn’t something he can handle on his own even with the pack at his side.” _

Jai raised a brow and mouthed the word “ _ pack? _ ” before she shook it off and went back to just listening when Gwen shrugged.

_ “You’re going to be dealing with people that you usually feel are threats, but listen to me, both of you.” _ Jai’s eyes went big, how did he know? _ “These ones, they’re the good guys, so, no killing the werewolves.” _

Gwen shook her head because this was going to be one hell of a case. “Okay, send us the information. We need at least two hours to notify about a flight plan and to get it in motion before we can even think of taking off.”

_ “I’ll do anything I can,”  _ Bobby sighed,  _ “and listen to me, whatever you do, Sam and Dean aren’t with you on this one. Trust me when I say, it’s not going to go over well if you put those boys and that pack together. The Hales alone… well, just beware of Peter.”  _ Jai giggled.  _ “Stow it.” _

“Oh, come on, Bobby, you have to see the humor in the whole thing of Peter being the name of a wolf. You used to read me that story when I was little.” Jai smirked, but Gwen just scowled at her and shook her head. “Fine, fine, I’ll leave it until I get there.”

_ “Don’t antagonize the man, he’s been through enough.” _

“You just take all the fun out of it, don’t you.” Jai mumbled, but Gwen closed her eyes and sighed. 

“Get all the info you can, we’ll print it off here and maybe figure out what we’re dealing by the time we land.” Gwen finally put a stop to what would have been an argument and turned to Jai as the phone hung up. “Really?”

“What?” The shorter of the two smirked and hopped the rail, leaving Whiskey to bask in the sun, “Werewolves, G, a whole pack of them and we’re going out there to  _ help _ ? I think Bobby’s lost his mind.”

The two of them moved towards the house, quiet in their own thoughts, splitting up to pack as Gwen made arrangements for the private plane to take them from one side of the continent to the other, but as she stuffed clothing into her bags, she never noticed Jai standing in her doorway lurking as she talked on the phone with a certain Dean Winchester.

_ “A plane?” _ his voice shuddered on the line. “ _ Your own personal plane?” _

“We talked about this, Dean, my father left a lot of things that we’re just now figuring out, and yes, a plane was one of them.” Gwen laughed as she folded clothes and stuffed them in a suitcase. 

_ “So weird, _ ” he sighed,  _ “so where are you going again? California?” _

“A small town just north of San Francisco,” was all she gave him. 

_ “For a case?” _

“Yes, one we don’t know much about yet, but definitely a case.”

_ “And you’re meeting another hunter?” _ She stood straight, looking down at the phone, perplexed. 

“Dean, are you jealous?” 

_ “No, no, not jealous, just,” _ he was jealous,  _ “worried. You sure Bobby really knows this Argent guy?” _

“Well, Jai knows of him. I’ve heard stories, it’s not like this is a new thing and he’s just popping up.” She shrugged, knowing he couldn’t see her. “We’ll be fine.”

_ “I’m not saying I’m okay with the two of you going alone, but if that’s what Bobby needs you to do, then I guess that’s it.” _ And just like that, he was agreeable. His words were about the time Jai made herself known by a loud scoff from the doorway.

“What are you doing?” Gwen questioned, low and annoyed.

“Door was open,” Jai innocently pointed at it and smiled. “Jeeves is waiting with the car, so…” she waved her hand at the half packed bag, “hurry up.”

With that, she turned and left, nervousness in her steps. 

_ “That Jai?” _ Dean questioned, drawing her attention back to the phone.

“Yeah, flight’s already got her on edge.” Once everything was placed in the bag, she lifted it and the duffle to head down stairs, holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder. “I have to go, Dean, we’ll talk soon.”

_ “Yeah, okay, safe travels.” _ And with no more ceremony, the line went dead. 

Gwen rolled her eyes, “oh, this is going to be so much fun.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter one**

Three hours into the six hour trip across the country, Gwen slapped Jai on the leg, waking her from the medication-induced sleep that it had pulled her into. The blue-eyed woman growled, slowly opened her eyes and stretched her legs out across the two seats under the table Gwen had set up and managed to cover with photos.

“Oh, my Gods! I hate flying,” she grumbled out as she sat up, pulling the blanket around her more. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere over Nebraska,” Gwen whispered without looking up. “I need you to tell me what you remember about Chris Argent.” She handed Jai the photo without waiting for her to answer. Jai took it, slowly focused on the man with the graying beard and bright blue eyes. “From Bobby’s stories, what do you remember?”

“It’s been a while, but the Argents were some of the world’s top elite in the realm of werewolf hunters until they fell apart with pretty much the death of the entire family, then he switched sides, started working with the McCall pack…” Jai rolled her eyes, “I didn’t realize it was a pack of wolves.”

“Me either, which is why I needed you to confirm it.” The two sat in silence for a moment, Jai staring at the photo, Gwen looking off at nothing. “His daughter died defending said pack.”

“Yeah, which kinda changed up the way he looked at things, working side by side with the wolves.” Jai put the picture aside, and her head back on the seat. “Always said hunting wasn’t black and white.”

“Well, now we really get to see the other side.” Gwen reached down and slid a few folders over to her. Once the plane was level, which it wasn’t for very long, Jai took them one by one and stared at the pictures. 

She stopped flipping through to look at one in particular, a muscular man with bright eyes and light hair, before she rolled hers up to look at Gwen. “They have a  _ hellhound _ ? Why the hell can’t we have one that looks like this?” She turned the photo to Gwen, who smirked. “In fact, is there something in their regulations that say the only people they can turn are model material men? Jesus, it’s like fashion week all over again. Wait…”

She snatched one out of the pile, turned it towards Gwen and sighed. His black hair was unruly, sticking up in different ways, his cheeks were covered in dark scruff, and those green eyes showed nothing but menace as he stood with his arms crossed for the picture. 

“This is Derek Hale?” Jai whistled, “I think I might change my policy on meeting monsters in back alleys on full moon nights.” Gwen snatched the photo away and listened to her snicker, before she moved on, taking in the narrowed gaze of blue eyes that stared back at her in the next picture. “Okay, well, Uncle Peter isn’t so bad either.”

“What are you doing? This isn’t a single monsters’ meet-up, and you’re not single.” Gwen sighed, but Jai only smirked.

“Hey, I can grab a hall pass,” she smirked, but then sighed. The next picture in her hand was a young woman with bright strawberry-blonde hair and what looked like a preppy attitude to boot that only came from having money, but it was the title beside her name that got Jai. “A banshee? They have a banshee too, what the hell kind of pack is this?” Jai rubbed her forehead, “God, please don’t let Eileen find out about this one.”

“Lydia Martin is not even our kind of banshee. She can predict death, usually along with the name of the person dying, but she hasn’t screamed in months.” Gwen added, still looking over the picture of Derek in her hands.

“So, she doesn’t know what the hell is causing this either, and whatever caused those poor saps to perish is something either completely off her radar, or supernatural enough to not even register.” Jai snatched the photo from Gwen, smirked at it and hummed at Derek like she was smelling the best chocolate cake she had ever tried, before handing it back to her. “He reminds me of Cas,” Jai’s voice interrupted her thoughts, “broody and stoic,” and that got Gwen to look up. “Just my opinion.” She winked and looked back at the papers. “So, one alpha, a hellhound, a banshee, a bunch of betas, and what the hell is chimera?”

“A creature with two sets of DNA,” Gwen shrugged. “Theo Raeken, part coyote, part wolf.”

“Hmm, wonder which ones can…”

“Derek and Theo,” Gwen answered, getting Jai’s attention now. So, Gwen had put thought into a full shift too, rare even for their kind of hunting. “They can actually shift into four-legged creatures.”

“Fluffy puppies, I know where at least one of them’s gonna end up. Good to know.” She flipped through the pages once again and stopped at the autopsy. “That’s kinda gross.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t tell us what we need to know.” Gwen sighed, set the picture down on the table and stretched her legs out. “And we don’t  _ know _ much of anything.”

“Lucky us.” Jai settled back in the seat, the picture of Scott in her hand as she quietly examined his face. 

~~~~~ 5:00 PMT Day One ~~~~

With the plane on the ground at some private airfield, the two girls stepped out into the warm California sun, and as soon as they hit the ground, Jai made for the grass. Her eyes closed, and she breathed in the air around her, but instantly, she stood straight, body tingling with power. Gazing over the surrounding area, she shivered at the area before making her way back. There was just something off here.

They watched the black SUV approach, but Jai’s hand was already slipping to the back of her light over-shirt.

“Easy there,” Gwen whispered, her eyes focused on the vehicle, “it matches the description that Bobby gave us for Argent’s car.” 

“What description?” Jai’s eyes snapped to her questioningly as Gwen held out the text screen that not only said “we landed safe” but was also followed by a “good” and the description of the exact vehicle that approached. “Well, he could be wrong.” She was at the ready, still on edge from the flight. “He said this was a private landing strip, but it’s not. It’s a dirt runway in a field. DIRT, G! And I nearly puked up a lung on landing.”

“You’re so dramatic. You can’t puke up a lung.” Gwen scoffed, looking down at her.

“Says you,” Jai grinned, “I aim to be different.” 

“Your aim to be something alright.” They focused on the man who stepped out of the car. It was definitely Argent from the pictures, but the one that moved from the passenger’s side was not someone they had counted on. “Who’s that?”

“Stilinski, if memory serves” Jai whispered, “human pack member.”

“Okay, well we definitely know we’re not in Kansas anymore.” 

Jai snorted, “If we were, they’d probably be dead by now because the boys would be right here, guns drawn.”

“Right, so it wasn’t a good line.”

“Not at all.” 

Argent stopped five feet from them, Stiles was at his back, and the pairs stared for a moment before Argent offered a hand.

“Thank you for coming,” he addressed Gwen directly, avoiding the stare of the woman beside her at least until he held his hand out in greeting. “I’m sorry if we dragged you from anything important.”

“The chance to meet a peaceful pack,” Jai smiled, “I’d drop anything for that.” She winked. “Jai Lancing. And this is Gwen Bancroft. Bobby said you needed some help.”

“Yeah, you could say that.” Argent gestured to his friend. “This is Stiles Stilinski,” Jai grinned at the fact that she was right but Gwen only rolled her eyes annoyed. “He’s a Beacon Hills Deputy and one of our pack. I hope you don’t mind, but the safest place for your ladies is right in the heart of it, so we’re taking you to the Hale residence. Derek’s agreed to put you up for however long of a time you need.”

“Wonderful.” Jai narrowed her eyes at Stiles but got a quick elbow from Gwen.

“The sooner we start, the better, Mr. Argent.”

“Please, just Argent, or Chris. Mr. Argent was my father and, well,” he tried to smile but it faded. “This way.”

The two girls moved towards the SUV, bags already placed in the open trunk, and Gwen looked down at Jai, who’s eyes were focused on the woods just on the other side of the air strip.

“Feeling?” Gwen’s voice was full of concern but Jai shook it off.

“Maybe.” 

~~~~~~

In the quiet of the car, Gwen listened to Stiles tell them about the scenes, the bodies, and the one person that walked out of the hospital on her own accord, while she stared down at the reports on her phone. This was definitely something out of the ordinary but one thing was certain, this wasn’t a crypto. Jai fired off questions that were relevant but something they already knew, but one question really did catch Gwen’s attention.

“We need to go out to the scenes, is it safe to go out unescorted?” She turned and looked at Jai, watched the way the woman had her eyes locked on Stiles as the man fidgeted in his seat and knew this was a test.

“The crime scenes are on the private part of the preserve, a police escort might be necessary, but I can put in a good word with the Sheriff to find out if we can get you in without one,” Stiles turned his amber eyes on Jai, and Gwen tapped out the seconds before Stiles rolled his head and looked away. “Fine, I’ll show you it later and the two of you can have at it. But, I really think you should at least take one of the pack with you.”

“You think whatever it is, is out there?” Jai slipped closer to him in the seat as Stiles shrugged. There was no animosity in her voice, just genuine curiosity for the man's opinion. 

“I don’t know what to think, but I know one thing, this place isn’t like any that you’ve ever been before, so it's better safe than sorry.”

Jai laughed, an open and honest laugh, “that’s debatable, but since you’re one of the guys in charge, a heavily clawed escort will be just fine.”

“Hey, what’s your story anyway?” He snapped as he turned in his seat, Gwen could feel his annoyance from where she sat behind him. It wasn’t the usual kind that she came across, not something that had to do with the way Jai treated people, no, this was more of the fact that he was annoyed because he had more people to keep track of. “I get that you’re a friend of his, that you’re a hunter, but what’s with you?”

“Kid,” Jai sighed, “that is one long, drawn out story we haven’t got time for if you don’t want someone to become a cornhusk doll again, so why don’t we not worry about my background, and stick to the case.”

“Jai!” Gwen reprimanded, saw the side-eye her partner gave her and shook her head. “They have a right to know us as much as we do them, so why don’t you just take a break, and we can all get to know each other when we get together.” Jai knew she made sense, but the fact that Gwen was even suggesting campfire stories was odd. Her blue eyes went right to Gwen’s with questions but the hunter just shook them off. “Later.”

~~~~~

Jai whistled as she stepped out beside Gwen, looking up at the five-story industrial building. It was dark, looked nearly abandoned - only nearly because they could see the lights on in the penthouse - and ominous.

“It’s haunted, right?” Jai blurted out as Stiles came around with one of the bags, her usual smirk on her lips. “It looks haunted.”

“Haunted, no, home to a werewolf, yes.” He scoffed, but then the playful smile faded, “wait, you’re serious?”

“As a heart attack,” Jai winked and stepped forward, slipping a backpack and two bags from his hands. 

Gwen tried to hold the laugh in as she looked over the building but Stiles sighed as he stepped up to her. “Your partner’s weird.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Gwen grumbled, but it wasn’t that she was irritated with Stiles, it was that something was off in the air. “Is there a large plant nearby? Something that would set off a lot of energy?”

“Not that I know of.” He paused for a second before shaking his head, “no, everything in this area is under development, except for this place. Derek likes the gloom and doom look of it. I think it fits his personality.”

“Broody, huh? I know a man like that.” Gwen smirked as they stepped forward following Argent and Jai, who had gotten into a conversation about the history of the building, complete with all the normal haunting questions that Jai was firing off about cold spots, and funny smells. “Stiles, can I give you a little advice.”

“Sure,” but he didn’t sound like he really wanted it, he just sounded annoyed.

“Take everything she says with a grain of salt. She’s used to protecting people, fighting for them, not with them, and she has her own way of doing things, most that would probably get someone else killed.”

“So, why are you with her?”

“She’s the hunter, I’m the brains.” Gwen actually winked, which was weird, because she found herself confused at the gesture. “She’s going to piss you off before she makes it better.”

“So, she’s like an alpha?” He smiled, and it was wise and teasing, “would that make you her beta?”

“In your lore, probably, but where we come from, I would probably be the omega. Low man on the totem pole because I don’t usually fight, I keep to myself, I don’t  _ people _ well.”

“You seem to be doing just fine with me.”

Gwen stopped, looked him over, and decided to just say what she was thinking. “You seem different, and on my level. It’s oddly easy to just blurt out things with you.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” She debated a moment then nodded. “You’re the one that hits the books while she hits the streets?”

“Yes,” and they moved again, following Jai and Argent into the lobby only to look up at the staircase that wound around the edges of the interior, flattening on each floor where the entrance to a loft was. “Whoa.”

“Yep,” Jai grinned back, “totally haunted!” 

“What’s with her and ghosts?” 

“One of her many obsessions,” the old elevator groaned to a stop and Argent slid the gate sideways, setting the bags inside as the girls and Stiles caught up. “She started hunting with ghosts, but she moved on.”

“You have a really weird job.” 

Gwen turned, facing out as Argent closed the gate and Jai bounced on her heels beside her, but she just leaned over, closer to the younger man. “You have no idea.”


	3. Gwen

**Gwen**

Stepping out the sliding door, I watched the way that Jai inched towards the railing. Not sure why she was doing that to herself, she hated heights but there she was, peeking over. I slapped her arm, watched her jolt, and smiled when she turned to glare at me, but that was just about the time that the door slid open and I stopped.

The photo of Derek Hale didn’t do him justice, not with the way his intense green eyes looked us over, first Jai, then me, where he stopped and gave me a look that I had only seen an angel perfect. His brows furrowed as his gaze swept over me and then he took in a breath, stepping aside. 

Jai moved in, hand hidden behind the back of her flannel shirt, but as she stopped in front of me to look at the man - the two of them locked in some sort of staring contest - I saw something that I’d rarely seen, and almost always when there was a Winchester involved… she relaxed. Her hand slipped away, the two of them exchanged curt nods and she walked on by. Apparently, this one wasn’t a threat to her. 

Derek reached out, took the bag from my hand and I saw the tick of his lips turn up in a quick smile before I moved inside the room. It was large, nearly empty of furniture, except for the couch that sat against one wall with it’s companion coffee table, no television in sight but an oddly placed armor against the adjacent wall, and the desk at the far back of the room. There was an weird dry-erase board off to the side but the moment I spotted it, and the glee on Jai’s face, I knew it was some sort of crime board, definitely case related and …  _ Great _ ! One of these fools thought like her.

Standing near the desk were two men, one around our age, not even as old as Argent, but instantly recognizable as Derek’s uncle, Peter, and the other, giving us just the  _ most _ annoying smile, was Scott McCall, alpha of the pack.

“Derek, Peter, Scott,” Argent addressed the three as Jai and I stopped, looking them over, while Stiles exited the room towards the right with our bags. “This is Jai Lancing and Gwen Bancroft, some of the world’s best hunters when it comes to things like whatever it is we’re dealing with.”

“Hi,” Scott’s smile couldn’t get any brighter, could it? He stretched out a hand and Jai took it, a bit baffled by the  _ man _ ? Boy? Shaking it nonetheless, before turning to me. “Thank you for coming, we’re kind of at a standstill.”

“Speak for yourself,” Peter mumbled in the background, catching her attention, and mine, as Derek crossed his arms, rolling his eyes, reminding me suddenly of Dean’s reactions to just about everything. “We didn’t need outside help, Argent.”

“Yeah, because your inside help was doing just fine,” Jai snipped back and, oh, this was not gonna be good.

“How long have you been doing this for, little hunter?” Peter mocked and I saw the moment the humor fell from her face.

“Ever heard fierce things come in small packages?” I closed my eyes and gave a deep sigh, seeing the smirk on Derek’s face at my exasperated show of annoyance before I stepped in front of her. Jai looked up, winked, and grinned. She held her hands up, stepped back, and turned to Scott. “Alpha, right?”

“Oh, Gods, please don’t!” I growled under my breath, reached out and slapped a hand over her mouth, but Jai did what Jai does and licked out at my palm. “ _ Oh my Gods! _ You are so gross.”

She gave a shrug, turned back to Scott, waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” was all he replied as he glanced at Stiles, who had moved up beside me. “Why?”

Her response was low, unusual casual, but the tone was unmistakable as she leaned in a little closer. “Control your puppy.” 

The look on her face was one of humor, but she stepped away toward the board as I ran a hand down my face.

“It’s not an excuse, but she’s coming down from medication.” 

It really wasn’t an excuse, truthfully, she was just an asshole, but Scott seemed to have forgotten all about it as we moved to congregate around the desk, where pictures and reports covered that and the board. Jai was silent for the moment, which was a good thing, but the icy look in Peter’s eyes was full of… something, not anger, but definitely something.

“Three victims, three weeks.” Argent started as I leaned in closer, looking over the material. “We have no idea what it is, and no clue as to how it’s choosing its victims.”

“They’re from out of town,” Jai spoke up, but she wasn’t addressing the men in the room, her eyes were right on me. “All of them.”

“I noticed, thank you,” I murmured in reply, shuffling the papers, until I found one that I thought might be important. “Are you usually a tourist town?” I glanced around the table, catching every eye except the older wolf’s who was slowly making his way towards Jai. Not the best idea, but who was I to speak up? “Three out-of-towners?”

“We thought of that,” Derek sighed, whose arms crossed again for only a moment before he put his knuckles against the wood and leaned in beside me to look at what I was reading. He reached out and tapped the paper. “This one we never got to ID. The Sheriff's department wrote it off as a prank, no ID, no confirmed DNA match.”

“But he’s our patient zero,” Scott added, which got me to look up at him. “We still have the body, well, Peter does.”

“Okay, so that would be our first stop,” I stood straight, glanced over at Jai, who was squatting before the bottom of the board, her head tilted just to the right, and cleared my throat. “Anything.”

“Frustratingly, no.” She grumbled and stood, “nothing outside the reports, but,” she reached out and tapped on the crime scene photo for the first victim. “I need to see this.”

“What? Now?” Peter barked beside her, and Jai, on instinct, turned with her gun in her hand aimed right for him. He had been quiet, so much so that while I knew he was heading in that direction, I didn’t know he was that close. 

It was a stand-off, the two pairs of blue eyes staring at each other, even with the height difference, there was no way either was backing down, or at least I thought, until I heard Jai exhale lightly through her nose.

She scowled, pressed her lips together and flicked the safety on as she raised the gun up, and shook her head. “Never do that again.”

Needless to say, I was a bit shocked at the way she backed down.

“You’re jumpy for a hunter,” Peter’s tone wasn’t anything but teasing, but Jai stowed the gun without reply and ripped the photo off the board.

“Hey!” was Stiles protesting from my right, and I shook my head. I wanted to tell him to get used to the destruction, but what was the point? However, it seemed the drawn gun issue had all but been forgotten, something I was definitely not used to. 

Jai walked over, slipped between me and Derek, what little space the wolf had left, and slapped the paper down while looking up at me. “We need to start here.”

“Okay, calm down, Ms. Manic,” I huffed, took the picture and brought it up to study it more. It was nothing but the forest floor, leaves, twigs, broken parts of… wait… “What is that?”

“A sigil,” she whispered, snatching the picture back, “and if no one’s been back to the area, which is highly unlikely in three weeks, it might still be out there.”

“You found something already?” Scott’s tone of voice was either awe or complete surprise.

“She’s apparently an expert on ghosts, so why not?” Stiles spoke up and I saw the exchange of eye rolls between him and Jai, but there was a quirk of a smile as well. 

“Among other things,” Jai added and moved around the table to slip in between me and Stiles this time, and I huffed as I just backed away. 

Looking at the body language of the two, I had a feeling this was going to be a long - and hopefully quiet - conversation that I didn’t need to be a part of. I made my way over to the couch, the autopsy of the unidentified victim in hand done by a private ME, and sat down, concentrating on the report, but a shadow cast over it, causing me to look up. 

Scott’s smile, while cute in an early teen kind of way, was annoyingly happy and I sighed. I wasn’t used to people, well hunters I got, but while regular people were too much for me on good days, this smiling alpha pushed it over the top.

“Hey, Gwen,” he tucked his hands into his pockets, “I know it was a long flight, Derek and I were thinking of dinner. You guys hungry? I’d ask Jai, but I have a feeling that gun wouldn’t stay hidden for very long.”

“I could eat,” was my only reply. Well, it was my usual reply, but the only thing I could think of at the moment to say to the man in front of me. Shit, I knew he was going to ask what I was in the mood for and there wasn’t some dumpy roadside diner in town to go to. “Chinese?”

“Perfect,” he smirked. Could it get any wider? Like it just took up his whole face, and I wanted to punch it off, but I had no clue where this animosity came from. “I’ll grab a menu.”

Argent walked over as Scott moved away, his eyes on the retreating boy, and he sat down on the coffee table. “He’s trying. They haven’t had the best luck with hunters from outside the area.”

“I can tell.” Could I please go back to reading, but that made me think of something, and I sat forward, putting the paper on the couch beside me. “The Argents have factions in New England but you’re out here, why not expand?”

“I promise Allison we’d do it differently, protect those who cannot protect themselves. It helps when these guys are on the same page. Beacon Hills is different from most towns.”

“It’s a hell mouth?” It was more of a statement than a question, but came out just the same.

“It is literally a beacon for supernatural creatures, hell’s not in the equation.”

“But it is,” I glanced at Jai, who was now standing with Stiles in front of the board. Peter oddly protective standing a few feet away, eyes on their every move as Stiles’ arms went wild with his explanations. “If she has a feeling,  _ any _ kind of feeling, it’s not good.”

“Is she psychic?” Argent’s eyes went to the trio and confusion filled his gaze.

“She’s something, but there’s a reason we work well together.” What was it about these people that made me comfortable enough to just blurt stuff out? This wasn’t like me at all, then again, maybe I had been hanging around with Sam and Dean too much. While the two of us usually hunted as a pair, the exposure to more like-minded people over the last few years, and opening the house up to those who needed the help, had helped me learn to tolerate them more. “I know it’s going to be hard, but please, if she says we need to do something, you need to listen. If I tell you that there is something seriously wrong, you need to listen. Whatever you have going on here, it’s not good.”

“What did she find on that paper?” Argent’s blue eyes locked on mine.

How to say this without coming off as bitch, or giving away something that we didn’t have concrete evidence of yet? I held his gaze and sighed. “Proof.”

Stiles raced out of the building like a hellhound was chasing him when the tone on his phone went off, and Argent quietly excused himself when a call came through, leaving Scott, Derek, Jai, and I to wait for dinner. Peter had made himself scarce, climbing the winding metal staircase to the second floor, even if his eyes were still targeting every move Jai made.

“What the hell is it with your uncle?” Jai questioned as Derek sat down beside me on the couch.

The food was laid out over the coffee table, having arrived just as the others were leaving, which also meant that Peter had snatched his order and ran, but the question only got a shrug from the beta beside me.

“He’s like that,” was the only response she got from him as he stabbed his chopsticks into a large piece of barbecued pork. 

I wanted to tell him that he was more than welcomed to eat with his fingers but I had a feeling it was just going to be shrugged off again. That didn’t stop Jai from digging in herself, the short end of a teriyaki stick in one hand and a crab rangoon in the other. Ordering dinner was easy enough, since we ate the same things, but it also meant getting a large quantity of it to satisfy the both of us.

“How did you two get into hunting?” Scott questioned after a time of companionable silence, which got Jai to swallow hard and look up at me, a deer in the headlight expression on her face. 

“It happened a long time ago,” she answered, ducking her head back to the chicken finger she dipped into her sauce. “You know, the same way most people start, with a loss or revenge as a good motive.”

“Who’d you lose?” 

Jai bit her lip, turned her gaze to him and locked him there, making the kid uncomfortable. She sighed out one word, “everybody,” before she stuffed her mouth and ignored him. 

Scott turned to me, a bit defeated, and went quiet as I refused to answer. He gave it a minute before he cleared his throat, pulling the phone from his pocket. It must have vibrated or something because I didn’t hear a thing. 

“Hey,” and there was that stupid grin again, “it’s Stiles, he said it was all clear to take you out to the sight tomorrow. I mean, you wouldn’t really be able to see anything tonight, but they’re done with needing it for the investigation.”

“Great,” Jai grumbled, drawing out the word before she glanced at me, and his smile faded.

“How early can we go?” I needed some sort of reference, there was no way I was just  _ hanging around _ until these pups could get their schedules straight, but it was Derek that answered.

“I’ll take you out as soon as you want to go,” his green eyes came to meet mine as I nodded. “Anytime.”

I heard Jai chuckle at the attention the man was giving me, and I thought for a moment of pegging something at her, but I didn’t want to waste food. She didn’t bother to look up, so there was no way to visually reprimand her, so I just nodded and went on eating. 

Scott ducked out an hour later, something about patrolling, which left Jai and I with the Hale men, something that she seemed to find amusing, as she pondered over the board again, this time knowing that Peter was watching from his post on the stairway. 

I was in the room, straightening out the large king bed, when Derek knocked. Giving him a quick look, I removed the laptop from my bag and opened it slowly. 

“You can come in, I don’t bite,” I whispered, knowing full well that he could hear me, but stopped the instant the words left my mouth, and shook my head. If that had come from Jai, I probably would have slapped her, but as it was, I just rolled my eyes.

“That tends to be a habit in this family.” He smiled…  _ actually smiled _ , wiping the broody look from his face. He walked in, set his back to the dresser and leaned on it casually. “You have questions, I can tell by the look in your eyes.”

“I’m a cryptozoologist, by nature, I study things. The fact that I’m surrounded by werewolves, and not the kind that are always trying to kill me, that piques my interest.” I couldn’t help but smile at him, even if it was just more of a smirk. I didn’t want to flirt, didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, I had Cas and Dean to think about, even if I knew he would so be Dean’s type. “Yeah, I have lots of questions.”

“Okay,” he took a long breath in, “go ahead.”

“Are you born or bitten?” 

His brow jumped, but he answered, “born. Peter and I are the last male heirs of the Hale line. The rest died in a fire years ago. But not all of us are born wolves, some of our children are human.”

“How does that happen?” 

He smirked, and shrugged. “Just like your genetics, we have ours. The wolf gene is recessive unless you have a very powerful mix of parents. My sisters, Laura and Cora are both wolves as well. Peter’s and my mother were wolves, my father was too, but his brother wasn’t, something about his parents were different.”

“And if you had children?” 

“It’s a good chance they’d be human, but still, one could be a wolf, the other could be… normal?”

“I think wolf or not, there is no real normal.”

“You are a strange hunter.”

“So I've been told.” I glanced out the door at the man on the stairway, the way his eyes seemed protective but strangely uncertain. “He was caught in that fire, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, and locked in a waking coma for six years. Peter’s done some pretty bad things since he regained control, but I don’t think you have to worry about him with her, he’s too infatuated to hurt her.”

“Can you tell if there’s something different with a person by their scent?” I turned back to him and watched the way he looked her over. 

“You mean the campfire smell?” And that got my attention. “Okay, how to explain this.” When he flicked his tongue out to moisten his lips, I couldn’t help but look, but I knew the moment he realized what was going on as his cheeks grew just a few shades darker, and he huffed in amusement. “Everyone has their own scent, like a natural odor, and usually it’s not bad, but it can tell us where you’ve been, what you’ve been through in life. You, for instance, I can tell you travel, and that you’ve had some close calls, life and death is how you live, what you live with, but you’re not as alone as you think. There are two very distinct scents on you, the smell of rain, and the scent of gunpowder. I would think the last one was Jai, but she’s not that close to you. They protect you, whoever they are, and underneath them, is just you.”

“Okay, so what about her?” Our eyes went to her again, the way she had backed up to put her hands on the table, still studying the board, before we turned to each other.

“She’s seen a lot more death than you have, lives with one foot on either side. She has that same ozone scent, just a bit sweeter, but like I said, she smells of campfires, ash and smoke. It lingers around her, like a…” he sighed, looking for the words, “like a coat. If she was a shifter, I would say it was armor, it keeps others away. Except maybe Peter.” I rolled my eyes at that, because of course she would attract the asshole. “There’s more but that’s what’s on the surface. Like I said, your scent tells us where you’ve been, your lives up until this point, and it will change after this as well.”

I tried to look thoughtful for a moment, but the only thing going through my mind was how he had gotten so much from one small thing. This was harder than I thought, and it was time to change the subject. 

“I have another question, but it’s personal,” I started, looking up to meet his green eyes, “to you.”

It took him a moment, but he gave a small shake of his head and licked his lips, just a small flash of pink before he spoke. “You know about my wolf,” Derek smirked, hands going to his waist as he did that sinful thing with his tongue again. “You’ve never seen a werewolf shift, have you?”

“Oh, no, I’ve seen plenty of fangs and eyes, and the lot, but never a full shift, that doesn’t happen in our world, at least where we hunt. You’re a rarity.” He took the compliment as it was intended but his eyes went to the floor, just for a moment, showing a vulnerable side. “Can you tell me why you and not the others?”

Derek moved away from the dresser to sit next to me on the bed, he rested his elbows on his knees and focused on a spot above the door before he started. “My mother, Talia, was the alpha of the Hale pack when I was younger, she was… amazing, and rare too, because she could shift. I thought it was because of her status but then I remember our mantra.”

“Wolves have a mantra?” I held in the smile as I studied his profile.

“We used it to teach the young ones when they first learn to control their shifts. Alpha, beta, omega. A reminder that we could all rise to one and fall to another, no one was superior over the others. My mother was an extremely fair leader and while she never told me how she learned she could do it, I know I had seen her in that form before.” Derek seemed to fade off into a memory as I scooted closer on the bed. He started grinding his fist into his palm, which instantly made me reach out and place mine over his, stilling his movements. “Sorry,” he whispered, throwing a glance my way, but he didn’t move his hand. “We were battling berserkers, and Kate Argent down in Mexico, she had somehow managed to steal my powers so I was fighting as a human.” He paused, his body stiffening for a moment, before he cleared his throat. “I was stabbed by one of them, a mortal wound,” I gave his fingers a gentle squeeze. “Thought for sure I was dying, I did actually die, I think, for a minute... and then something just took over my body.” His eyes brightened as he turned and caught my gaze. “Before I knew it, I had evolved. I don’t know, maybe it’s genetics again, maybe it’s that I was willing to fight without my supernatural side, but either way, I could shift at will.”

I took in the way he was looking at me, scanning over my face, expecting judgement but seeing none. He was an abnormality in an already abnormal world and it scared him. I bit down on my lip, sat up a little straighter, and whispered to him. “Would you show me you? The other you?”

Derek smiled, a full-on, beaming bright smile, and nodded before he slowly stood, making it to the door only to shut it quietly. With one brow raised, mocking flirtation, he looked down at me and grabbed the hem of his shirt, walking to the center of the room. “I’m going to have to get naked to do it. Will that bother you?” 

_ Oh, the hardship  _ was my first thought, but I cleared my throat, felt my face flush with heat because there was no denying he was an attractive man. “We’re both adults, right?”

Derek nodded, put his back to me and yanked off the top, showing me the large Triskele tattoo between his shoulder blades, the one that moved with each ripple of muscle as he unbuttoned his jeans and turned towards me before dropping them down to the floor. Standing there in black boxer briefs, I felt the breath rush from my lungs and saw the way his skin darkened under my gaze.

“Last chance,” he winked as his thumbs hooked the waist of the briefs, but I put on my best poker face and watched him smirk before they started to fall, and suddenly, with no bones cracking, no sounds of agony, there stood a beautiful black wolf with blue eyes. 

He was close to what would be chest high on Jai, nearly four-foot standing up, his head just a bit higher. He definitely looked healthy and well-fed with a beautiful coat and I moved, coming to my knees in front of him as I slowly reached out a hand. 

“Derek?” His eyes answered me with a bright blue glow and he lowered his muzzle into my palm, licking at it with a wet tongue. “You’re beautiful.” My fingers ran through his coat, feeling the way the muscles under it shivered at the touch. “No one’s ever pet you before have they?” He whined, pranced a little in his place and moved forward to touch his nose under my chin, nearly pushing me over. “You’ll have to tell me what it feels like when you shift back.”

We spent an hour like that, moving to the bed so Derek could curl up against me, his back to my chest as I ran my fingers over him. He seemed content, tail slapping my leg when I talked to him, not as a wolf but as if he were still in human form. I told him my past, let out the hurt of the years, something I had only told Jai, and maybe Sam and Dean, but it was easy to speak to him in this form, not that I think I would have had an issue if he were standing there staring at me with those intense eyes.

The sound of Peter and Jai finally getting on each other’s nerves is what shook us from the comfort of the bed. Derek moved, slowly standing to make his way over to the pile of clothes on the floor, and I watched unabashed as he shifted before me, standing there in all his nude glory, but it was about the time he reached down for his jeans that the door slid open widely on its track. Jai froze in the middle of the doorway, eyes wide as Derek stood straight, both hands suddenly cupping himself as his lips parted and his green eyes flared blue.

I’d only heard of Stiles’ love for the exclamation, but to hear it leave Jai’s mouth was the highlight of my night. “Oh,  _ my _ Gods!” She slapped a hand over her eyes, spreading two to peek at him again, not even apologetically hiding her curiosity. In fact, the whole shocked Jai was for show, but I saw the way he breathed unevenly, danced in his spot, and I stood to block her view. Jai dropped the hand, glaring at me, a little annoyed that I blocked her, and she rolled her eyes to continue with her routine. “You know, a little warning would be nice! What the fuck?” 

She leaned to the right, peeking past me at Derek, who now stood in those black boxer briefs, jeans in his hands, before she turned and left the room, yanking the door closed behind her. 

“What’s wrong?” And the tone of Peter’s voice really was concerned as the little hunter stomped through the house and came to a complete stop.

“ _ Holy hell _ !” I heard her swear, this time truly caught blindsided by something that quickly became apparent, “do you Hales  _ not  _ believe in clothing?”

“I was changing my shirt.” Peter’s answer only got a crack of a smile from Derek, but I placed a hand over my mouth to silence the cackle I knew I could let out. “Now, tell me,” he paused, lowered his voice and barely whispered, “what’s wrong?”

“He was naked,” she huffed, and that time I did laugh, not holding back as Derek finished pulling the shirt over his head, before we heard the sounds of her feet retreating further into the house.

There was a faint “oh,” and that was the end of that.

The man in the room with me shook his head, quietly excused himself to do some damage control - because the light knock on the door and Peter’s scolding use of his name was enough to put the younger wolf on edge - and I found myself going over all of the physical information that I had gained in the last hour. 

~~~~~

I was organizing some material on the laptop when the door opened slowly and I peeked up to see Jai look around the edge of the door, scope out the room and quietly enter. It wasn’t like her to be sly about something like this, a naked man was probably one of her favorite things, but she was definitely being cautious. 

She stood straight, entered the room and scoffed at me. “That was uncalled for.”

I gave her a quick  _ ha! _ Before I shrugged and smirked. “What, I’ve been here for six hours. And you loved it and you know it, so quit your bellyaching.”

She found her way to her bags, rifled through them and tossed an old book on the bed before kicking off her shoes, ignoring my last poke at her. “Six hours is an unusually long time for you to take to get someone out of their jeans. Bravo on the whole self control thing, but seriously, a text would have been nice.”

I turned from where I stood, the laptop resting on the dresser, and raised a finger. “You do not simply text when a man like Derek Hale offers to show you his full wolf form.” 

“That’s not all he showed you.” 

“Hush, you’re just jealous.” 

“Well, I got my peek in so I’m good.” I knew it, and just like that she was back to the pervert we were all fond of. I watched as she stripped down to just her tee-shirt and underwear, discarding the jeans beside the bed - a typical show of the day being done - and scowled as she moved to climb under the blankets. 

“Oh, hell no! Get the hell up and go shower and change! You’ve been in those all day.” It was like babysitting a teenager sometimes. 

She rolled her eyes at me, huffed out a “fine,” and moved towards her duffle. With a quick smirk and a wink, she walked out in that state of undress. I counted the seconds before I heard the fumble of a rocks glass and Peter clearing his throat somewhere in the living room.

It wasn’t as hard as I thought to fluster a wolf. And apparently, payback was a bitch.

~~~~~ 12:00 PMT Day Two ~~~~

I was on the bed reading when Jai slipped back in, closing the door completely behind her. There was a look on her face, one of confusion and I knew she had been thinking about the case. Showers always gave her the time to focus and review everything without distraction so I was curious what was going on in her mind.

“The sigil,” she whispered, placing her bag back on the floor, closer to the bed this time as I dropped the book to my lap. “I’ve seen it before but I can’t place it.”

“Me either.” She sat facing me, legs crossed as she pushed her wet hair away. I held up the tablet in my hand. “It’s not in anything we have on file.”

“So, what if it’s not something we usually look into?” 

“You mean outside our usual box?”

“We have a box?” She was completely serious, thinking on it a moment before she shook her head. “I was thinking it was more like a mansion, but if you want to go with a simple…”

“Stop!” I closed my eyes, it was getting too late for this. “You know what I meant, calm your brain down and focus.”

“Fine,” she bit her lip, something I knew couldn’t be good before she glanced up at me and sighed, “So, Stiles…”

“Is too young for you.” I made sure to point out.

“He’s like twenty-eight, and not what I was going with, but if we’re on the subject of too young for you…” 

“He’s not.”

“He’s also a werewolf,” she scoffed.

“And part of my trio is an angel.” She wasn’t winning this one, of course, I wasn’t going there either, “and what about you and,” I gestured out into the living room knowing full well who was out there. “You have way too many to add another.”

“What? I can’t help it if I’m a polylusterious person.”

“That’s not even a word!”

“Is now. I may lo…  _ like _ a few of the people that I’m with,  _ a lot _ , that doesn’t mean I’m dead. I can lust after anyone I chose. You know, many lusts.”

“Just stop!” I rubbed my forehead, knowing now that she really was tired, because making up shit was a Dean thing. “I don’t care who you  _ lust _ after, Jai, just keep things in perspective.”

“Oh sure, Ms. Cuddlewolf,” she huffed, and moved up to grab the edge of the covers. 

“You know they have heightened hearing, right?”

“No, they have selective heightened hearing,” she rolled her eyes, at me, shifting to slip under the sheets.

“Why selective?” Because that was randomly specific. 

She shrugged, fluffed the pillow and flopped down without pulling the sheets higher than her calves. “Got a lengthy voicemail from Bobby about Argent, and Peter was being a lurker. He said he only heard part of it, which is either a lie or selective.” 

“Still not a valid reason.” 

“Okay,” she sat up quickly, moved to the end of the bed and snatched up her bag, “watch this.” 

In her hand is a low frequency emitter, one she used for EVP sessions when she felt like making a hunt her own little TAPS show and turned it on. 

I waited for it, watched as her gaze flicked towards the door and from the other room, heard Peter yell “Dammit” while Derek just asked “what's wrong?” 

_ Well, now _ . She shut off the device and slipped it back into the bag. “Point proven.”

Jai smirked at the door before climbing back up to her spot in the bed and diving down into the blankets. “Night, G.”

That should worry me, but the fact that she just about face planted and settled in was a bit of a relief. Maybe she was more comfortable around the werewolves than she really wanted to let on. Maybe knowing there were monsters outside the door that wanted to protect her rather than kill her set her mind at ease. No matter what it was, it seemed to be something I felt as well, because I found myself falling down into it alongside her.

The first time I woke that night, it was to check on Jai. She had a habit of wandering at night, checking doors and windows, making sure we were safe, but she was out cold, one arm off the bed, knuckles to the floor, and I realized I had only been asleep for a few hours. With a breath in, I snuggled down into the nest I managed to make without stealing her pillows, and closed my eyes.

The second time I jolted upright, I searched the room only to find Jai still beside me on the bed. It was rare that she didn’t move, or at least get up, but right now she was curled around a pillow, whispering Latin to herself, words that were harmless and comforting. I was almost curious enough to see if I couldn’t get her to tell me what was going on, but the last time she talked in her sleep… Well, it didn’t go over without a little bit of destruction.

This time I couldn’t just fall back into it. Something outside the room had me on edge and I quickly tossed the blankets aside and got up. I wore light sweats and a tee-shirt because this was California and even inside the cool interior of the building, it was warm. 

I made my way out of the room and headed towards the kitchen, needing something, but when I opened the fridge, I caught the movement of a body on the couch. Turning quickly, I snapped the light on flooding the room, which the small lamp beside the couch hadn’t done. Peter glancing up from the book in his hand, raised the glass of bourbon in the other to his lips and smirked.

“My apologies, I didn’t realize I was going to disturb anyone,” he took his gaze from me and rested it back on the book in his hand as I snatched a bottled water from the fridge and made my way towards the large windows that overlooked the city. “You seem restless.”

“Just not used to having a partner who actually sleeps through the night,” was literally the only thing I could think of saying to him as I made my way over to sit on the other end of the couch. “So, what’s your story?”

He laughed at that, not loudly, but definitely with glee. “I’m glad you think I have one.”

“Well, we know you were in a coma for six years after the fire. We know you went psycho wolf, killed some people, and you’re the one that bit Scott.” Hey, being blunt was a thing of mine.

“Well, now, you have no filter, do you?” He placed the book on the end table, marking it with a tassel, which I had to give him credit for because he didn’t dog-ear the pages, and that spoke volumes.

“Rarely,” I smiled, “I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out.”

“I admit I was a little,” he paused, his eyes going to the room, “distracted.”

“And why is that?” He only blinked and raised a brow. “You’ve been following her like a puppy since we got here.”

“Call it professional curiosity.”

“It’s her scent, isn’t it?” I watched his smile fade, “Derek says you can use it to tell what people have been through. She smells like fire.”

“Not just simple smoke and wood,” he let his shoulder rise then fall, quickly, “but Hell itself, I know because I’ve been there.”

“Then you know more than most people.” 

“I know a little something about you as well,” he shifted in the chair, eyes scanning over me with a creepy gleam, not something menacing, but knowing, before he looked me in the eyes again. “You’re a beta.”

“Excuse me?” Okay, maybe I wasn’t as shocked as I was trying to pretend to be, but while Jai and I had discussed pack dynamics a long time ago when we investigated that one wolf den in Toronto, no one else knew what designation we labeled ourselves as. 

Peter gave a smirk, adjusted himself to get comfortable and cleared his throat. “You, my lovely huntress, are a beta. More specifically, you’re  _ her _ beta, it’s the only way to explain the way you react to Scott.”

“React to him? He’s annoying,” I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped but the way he just looked, patiently waiting, got me to roll my eyes. What was it with these people? “Fine, no, I don’t like him. It’s usually just me and her, or the two of us and a pair of others we trust. She’s the hunter, I’m the researcher if that makes sense.”

“Yes, but not helpless.”

“No, I just prefer to stay away from the physical part, but that doesn't mean I can't fight. That’s her thing, being out there, protecting. And I don’t like authority.” I wasn’t even sure if I was making sense, but I knew one thing. “She tells me what to do, and I do it, because she’s the best at that part. It’s not a matter of being defenseless, it’s a matter of surviving.”

“She’s your alpha,” Peter nodded, understanding.

“In a way, your dynamics make more sense, but where I’m from, I would be the omega, low man on the totem pole.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Nevertheless, it’s how I identify.” It amazed me that he wasn’t being condescending. “Jai fills the alpha roll, here and there. When I stepped into the room, I just got this feeling from him. He’s an alpha, so why does it bother me so much? The only thing I can guess is loyalty, because when it comes down to it, the only one I would listen to for actions and moves would be her.”

“It bothers you like it does so many other betas. We usually only have one alpha, one person to lead us, friendly or not, it becomes an internal power struggle on which one to listen to, the hosting alpha, or your own. Where do the rules lie with human packs?”

“It’s frustrating.” I sighed, brought the water to my lips and paused, “what about you? Where do you land?”

“Me?” he grinned, “I’m a beta, not because I follow any alpha but because I’m not packless and I’m not a lone wolf, but I have done things that change the color of my eyes.” He shifted forward, gaze locked on mine, but I didn’t feel a threat. “I’d like to help you, I can offer medical knowledge where the bodies are concerned, and show you where the first victim is. I have him in cold storage at a warehouse I own, but only if you’re comfortable.”

“If you think this is a way to get to her…” I was a little unsure of his intentions but Peter’s eyes went to the room.

“I would never dream of harming you, or incurring her wrath, but this thing is threatening my home, and sitting back while it does so is not something I feel comfortable doing.” He slowly rose, collecting his book before he looked down at me. “Besides, your other option is dealing with Scott and Stiles. Don’t you think it’s best to get the jump on that before you have to deal with another alpha? Though it might be a good idea to address it before it becomes too obvious.”

Peter gave me a curt nod and slowly moved around the room to the stairway before quietly ascending into the darkness.

~~~~~

I slipped into bed, tugging the covers up as Jai suddenly opened her eyes and stared at me. If I wasn’t used to it, I would have probably jumped but she glanced around before she spoke. “Everything okay?”

It figures she would wake up now. “Yeah, just getting a drink.” 

She reached out and patted my arm, “okay,” was all she whispered, “okay,” and then turned over.

It took longer than I hoped for sleep to pull me under, but when it finally did, my dreams were filled with glaring standoffs between a dark-haired angel and a green-eyed wolf.


	4. Jai

~~~~ 5:45 PMT Day Two ~~~~

It wasn’t that the sun was bright, in fact at 5:45 in the morning, it was actually a lot darker than I was used to, but that might have something to do with one Hale’s obsession with frosted windows. The ten-foot ones in the bedroom were one thing, and it helped keep out most of the blinding light, just not enough to keep me in dreamland, but the floor to ceiling ones in the main room were another story altogether.

Gwen didn’t even move when I shifted out of bed, grabbed my leggings, sports bra, and sneakers from the bag and made my way out to the bathroom. If she was going to sleep, then I wasn’t going to chance waking her up by changing in the room. 

Once fully dressed, I paused in the living room to tie my shoes, but that was when I heard movement up at the top of the stairs. The tank that Peter wore when he slowly made his way down rubbing his eyes, showed off the well-toned shape of his arms and chest, catching my attention, but the sleepiness in his blue eyes almost made him look… adorable? 

He stopped at the bottom of the steps, looked me over from head to toe and slowly headed for the kitchen, but it was when I slipped my blade from the sheath that I had set on the table, that he stopped and stared. I smirked at him, knowing the questions going through his head and reached over my shoulder with the blade, skillfully slipping it into the extra sheath built into the sports bra I wore. 

“What are you doing?” His voice was filled with curiosity, like he had never seen a woman in running clothes, and all I gave him back was a shrug.

“What’s it look like?” 

Peter scoffed, gave me a slight eye roll, and started back on his trek to the kitchen. “It looks like you’re about to be stupid enough to put yourself in danger.” I heard him playing with the coffee maker, slipping in a K-cup before he started it up and stood leaning against the door sill, with his arms crossed. “Do you always run alone in strange cities?”

“You’re more than welcomed to join me, if it’s giving you that much of an issue,” I winked at him, trying to keep the tone light, because I didn’t need a protector, but he raised a hand and shook his head.

“Pass,” he hmmphed, and before he turned back for his cup, he glanced over me again, “just don’t get yourself killed.”

“Your concern is duly noted,” I moved towards the door, pushed up on the hook lock and glanced up at the landing when Derek stepped up to the rail, yanking a shirt over his head. “When she wakes up, she’s going to need tea and silence. For your sake, I hope you give it to her.”

“Good to know,” he huffed, no malice in his voice but definitely still deep with sleep. “Be safe.”

And with that, I was out the door.

The building wasn’t far from the edge of the Beacon Hills Preserve, something I assumed was part of Derek’s plan when he bought the building, but it also wasn’t close enough. It bordered the town park, a well-manicured residential area with cement trails and swing sets for those not adventurous enough to enter the woods. I had made it two miles into the trail that had started at the edge of this harmless ‘park’ before I decided that this just wasn’t exhausting enough. 

Taking a well-cleared dirt path, I moved along the pine-covered ground, barely breaking a sweat, breathing timed and even, until I made it up a small knoll more than a mile in and noticed the sounds around me. The footfalls were wide, rhythmic enough let me know it was on two legs at least, but it was approaching fast and I needed to make up my mind whether I was going to attack or just wait.

Slowing my pace to a walk in order to have enough energy to fight, should that be the way it went, I reached my hand over my shoulder and gripped the handle of the hell blade that I had hidden there, but when I turned to face the silence, the only thing I saw was Scott.

He stood not more than ten feet from me, which meant that he had scented me long before I heard him, and was able to hide his approach, but the fact that his hands were raised in surrender, palms up towards me, told me he had seen me draw the blade. He stood in blue jeans and a black shirt, breathing in through his nose as he slowly lowered those hands to his side. 

This way, out of the crowd of his pack, he gave off that air of power, the alpha in him shining through as he stood tall, chin down just enough that he was looking at me through his lashes and those brown eyes even without the power flashing in them actually looked menacing, and I slowly lowered my stance. I was on his land after all. Scott glanced around, no humor on his face as his brows furrowed before landing back on me, and he took in a deep breath, letting out a small rumble as he exhaled.

“You’re alone?” And it wasn’t really something that needed to be answered, he was more stating a fact that he knew it.

“Do I look like a damsel in distress to you?” It was sarcastic but not mean and I watched the tip of his tongue flick out when he smiled and rub over his canines. “Yes, I’m alone. I offered Peter the chance to come along, but he declined.”

“What are you doing out here?” Not sure why he was asking the obvious questions except that maybe he just didn’t know how else to approach me, but I used my hands to basically highlight the clothes I was wearing and saw him frown, then nod. “It’s early to be out in these woods,” he snipped as he approached and moved to walk past me, “you should have stuck to the trail in the park.”

“Well, you know, I’m not the most logical person,” I shrugged, slipping the blade away as I followed. His steps showed frustration and I sighed. “Hey, what’s your deal?”

He stopped dead, turned and looked at me. “What?”

“Your deal? Like right now? Why are you being a dick?” I needed to know why the sudden change.

“You’re,” he scowled, waved his hand, and sighed, “you’re like an alpha, and it sets me off. I’m trying here, and it’s not working.”

“Like an alpha?” I laughed, smiling as I moved up to stand beside him, and let it fade quickly, “I  _ am _ an alpha.” It was meant to be a joke but he took a step back, glaring down at me. I kept my posture relaxed and slowly he followed. “But, that doesn’t tell me why you’re being a douche right now, and trust me, I know douches, my brother is a big supporter. So, you talk to me, or I give up on what’s stopping me from going to the scene, since I know it's out here and I know it’s coordinates.”

“What’s stopping you?” I watched his brows come together, like that was the only thing he got out of the whole conversation.

I smirked at him, because… come on, he was an adorable alpha, but I just shook my head, unsure of how he couldn’t know. “Disappointing Stiles.”

“Disappointing…?” Scott stumbled, “what does Stiles have to do with this?” 

_ Really?  _ “I kinda like the kid, his uncontrollable babbling makes me laugh,” I shrugged and turned towards the trail. “Come on, I’ll help you with patrol.”

Scott seemed put out as he huffed, but jogged to catch up with me, and slowly, his attitude changed. 

“Are you better now?” I grinned at him, because he was giving Derek a run for his  _ broody little wolf _ money. 

“Yeah, sorry,” he smirked, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “I’ve just never met a human alpha before, you kinda set me on edge back there, it was a weird reaction.”

“Gwen and I always joked about me being one, more because I’m bossy when it comes to her safety and how things need to be done, but didn’t think I actually gave it off.” He looked at me with those deep brown eyes, blushed, and lowered them before looking ahead again. “So, what’s your history? I mean from the files I got, I know Peter was the one that bit you, but a true alpha, you know how rare those are, even in our world?”

“People tell me that a lot, but to me it just means that no one can steal my power, and it also means more trouble for my pack.” he shrugged at that before he continued. “Sometimes I want to give it up, just to keep them safe.”

“I understand that. If I could take back things I’ve done to save the people I love, I’d do that too.” The sudden relaxed atmosphere that surrounded us was strange, but inviting and I wanted to keep it going as long as I could. I hadn’t been able to relax in ages, but being around this pack seemed to satisfy a weird animalistic need for family. “Can you tell me about them? Your pack? I mean, we know what we do from the files Argent sent, but what about them, as people?”

Scott was quiet for a moment, his eyes focused on something far away, more like a memory than anything before he came back to reality and gave a tight lipped smirk. “We met Derek first, me and Stiles, after Peter bit me. We came back into the woods to find my inhaler and he had it. I didn’t realize at the time that he was trying to actually help me, I was just pissed off that I had been turned without consent, but he tried, really hard. It took me a long time, and some major mistakes to see that he was a friend.”

“Like an annoying big brother?” I thought of Dean at that moment, not that he was older, but that he had done the same thing to me growing up, hell, we had done it to each other before we got back to swinging fists  _ at _ one another. “Yeah, I get that.”

“Stiles and I have been friends forever, so he _ is _ my brother. Lydia was bitten by Peter too, and it kicked her dormant genes into gear, so we found ourselves a banshee. Derek bit two of our betas, both not here, Isaac and Jackson.”

“The kanima, right? Jackson Whittemore?” Scott looked at me shocked, but all I did was shrug, “hey, Argent’s good at his job.”

“Yeah, but Jackson’s in London, and Isaac’s in France.”

“You have an American werewolf in London?” I stopped and looked at him, rolling my eyes as he shook his head. 

“I know, I know,” he sighed, having heard the line before, “but he’s with Ethan, another beta in our pack, keeping communication open in case it’s needed.”

“Oh, please tell me that Isaac’s not in Paris, because the whole cliche movie title thing will just keep going.” Scott huffed this time and moved on down the path, rubbing his forehead, but I let it go and followed along. “No, seriously, I’m sorry.”

“You’re not,” Scott huffed, “I can smell it on you.”

“Kinda weird, I have to tell ya,” I made it up beside him but I could see the way he clenched his fists and while physical contact was iffy with most people, an explosive alpha wasn’t the best thing. I did it anyway, grabbed his wrist, something he stopped dead and spun at me for, and wrapped my hands around his clenched one. Scott snarled, jaw locked to hold back from lashing out and I stared him right in the eyes. “Listen, kid, I’m not challenging you, no matter how fun it might be to see how far I could get…”

“Not helping,” he growled out, and I watched with fascination as his bottom canines extended.

“I know, I know,” I drew in a breath, set my gaze on our hands and let my thumb run across his knuckles. “Okay, I’m not here to take your territory, or your pack, I’m just here to do a job. I’m not a threat.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he swallowed hard, trying to keep it under control.

“Well,” new tactic, “are you gonna bite me?”

“What?” That shook him a bit and he looked at me in shock. “No! Why would I bite you?”

“Because you’re an alpha?” And I made it sound as idiotic as I intended. “What do you do with ones that threaten your pack?”

“Fight them.”  _ Duh _ ! That made me smile.

“Okay, think you could take me in a fight?” The hand under mine relaxed as I continued to caress his skin lightly. 

“I could kill you,” and that was him letting me know that not only would I lose the fight, I’d die or become one of them. “If the bite doesn’t turn you, it kills you, there’s no way back from it.”

“Well, then, Alpha, I guess you’re going to have to control yourself, because I’m not the enemy.” I brought my eyes back to his, locking onto him, willing him to see this, and he drew in through his nose before he released it slowly through slightly parted lips, blinking a few times before his fingers opened and slipped around mine. “We good? Crisis averted? Moving on?”

Scott looked at me as if I were insane before I gently slipped my hand from his and walked on. “You’re strange.”

“So, I have been told, multiple times, actually. Mostly by Gwen, but she doesn’t count.” I waved him off as he caught up, trying not to smile no matter how much he snuck peeks in my direction. “You have a hellhound in your pack,” I was the one who looked this time, giving him a raised brow, “how the hell do you have a hellhound?”

“We have Parrish,” he shrugged. 

“Yeah, trust me, I saw blondie, and I’ve never seen one that looked like him before.” The disgusted expression of what could only be described as a younger sibling figuring out your crush was the most - oddly - adorable thing to cross his face. “Oh, come on, ours look like decomposing Dobermans with mange hopped up on steroids, that have bright red eyes and breathe fire.”

“Sounds like you’ve seen them.” The concern in his voice didn’t go unnoticed and for a moment, I had to check myself before I shook it off and smiled. 

“Parrish?” I smirked, listening to him huff as he walked on.

“He was a soldier who died, I guess, during an IED explosion and came back with the spirit of a hellhound in him.” He shrugged and moved on like that wasn’t a huge deal. Demons  _ were _ a thing. “He was drawn to Beacon Hills, and when the Dread Doctors came…”

“Wait, the what?” Oh, my Gods, this whole case just got so much more confusing.

Scott gave me a side-eyed, “one thing at a time.” Well, me-yow. “Anyway, when they came, it set off his power and we figured out he was a hellhound, which is just another…”

“Harbinger of Death,” I whispered softly to myself, but he sighed and nodded. “So, him and Lydia?”

Scott waved his hand, brushing that off. “What else?”

I stopped and looked around, whatever path we had been on, we weren’t anymore. We were standing in the middle of a clearing, no noticeable path in sight, with a canopy of pine trees overhead and a completely noticeable absence of sound.

“Where are we?” 

He stepped around until his back was to mine, our footfalls matched as we turned in counterclockwise, each of us taking in what we could of the area. Him using his abilities, me using mine, something he didn’t need to see as I reached out with the darkness.

“There’s nothing here,” he whispered. 

“Not surprising.” 

“No, you don’t get it, there’s literally  _ nothing _ here. No scent, no chemo signals, echo waves, nothing to indicate any animals have stepped in this spot for… decades at least.”

“Okay, that is creepy.” I reached behind my back, grabbed the handle to the hell blade and slowly withdrew it. “I’m going to say a few words, don’t repeat them, don’t even try to understand them, okay? In fact, tune them out.”

“What are you doing?” I felt his hand reach back, grasping my free one.

“Don’t worry, just keep right there, and let me go, cause I’m gonna need that.” I felt him slowly release me, one finger at a time, before I was finally free and I drew in a breath, whispered a few quiet words in Iberian, and waited. Nothing. This is what I needed my other hand for. Pricking my finger, I let the blood drip, and knew the instant his nose caught it. “Keep it together, Scott, no one’s hurt.”

“You’re bleeding! Are you trying to attract the whole county?” He growled.

“Nope, just whatever’s hiding here.” I was pretty sure whatever left this kind of mark had vacated years ago, but to leave such a blank space was problematic, and it needed to be closed. “Okay, remember those words I told you to tune out?”

“What are you talking about?” He snipped. 

“Cover your ears.” 

“What?”

“Your  _ ears _ , Scott! Cover your ears!” 

I felt the moment he did it, and that was when I began. Keeping my back to him, I drew a sigil in the air before me with the hand now covered in my blood and I watched the air shimmer. I was right, it was gone, but it left something broken, like a door left ajar. It took nearly five minutes to get the fucker to close and seal, and by the time I was done, I felt like I had gone ten miles at a marathon pace.

“Okay,” I sighed, finally leaning forward, hands on my thighs, “you can take them off.” I knew the moment he turned, saw me trying to catch my breath, and laughed when I opened my eyes to see him crouch in front of me. “I think I’ve had enough exercise for one day, can we go back now?” Scott looked around, listened to the birds chirping in the trees overhead and nodded as he stood. “Good, I think I need a nap.”

~~~~~

The walk  _ home _ took about as long as I thought it would but I was happy to find Derek sitting in the parking lot not far from where I had gotten off the trail, leaning against the Camaro waiting for us to arrive. 

“Oh, thank the Gods.” I sighed and flopped down in the backseat. Weird how it smelled like him, and not at all like wet dog, and I wondered if that was his actual scent or if it was a mixture of his body wash and cologne. Derek the human smelled nice. I hummed as I curled up against a black leather jacket and closed my eyes.

“What did you two do?” That was nearly a laugh but I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes and check. I could hear Scott tell him all about it as we drove back towards the loft, all the while, the man in front of me didn’t respond, at least not until the car stopped and I heard him turn in the seat. “Hey, Jai, you wanna wake up or do you want me to carry you?”

“Oh, hell,” I at least thought it, not sure I even said it, “as long as it’s not a fireman’s carry, take me away, baby.”

Scott scoffed, and I wasn’t sure if he was offended or annoyed, but he helped me from the car before Derek literally swept me off my feet. I  _ hated _ to be carried, always thought that person was going to drop me, but Derek’s arms were tight, secure and for once, I was relaxed enough, - floating in the scent that was definitely him and went along to confirmed my suspicions about the car - that I actually jumped when the door slid open to the loft and Peter snapped.

“What happened?” I let my head fall back on Derek’s arm, blinked my eyes open and looked at the blue-eyed man who quickly approached. His hand was on my face, turning it so I was looking straight at him, and I wish I had the energy to slap him away, as it was, I just stared. “I thought I told you not to do something stupid.”

“And you should have known I wasn’t going to listen.” My reply was for attitude purposes only and I continued to scowl up at him as Derek set me on my feet, made sure I was steady and walked off towards the kitchen where Gwen was cooking. “Wait,” I put my hand on Peter’s chest, holding him at bay as I moved further into the room before I looked back at him. “You let Gwen  _ cook _ ?”

“I’m a great cook, you whiny toddler!” She snipped at me, but never bothered to turn around. 

“No, you’re a great  _ baker _ .” I turned my eyes to Derek, who wasn’t even looking, he was just fucking smirking, with his dumb scruffy smirk. Okay, maybe I did over do it. “Why did you let Gwen cook?” And, may- _ be _ I wasn’t as sturdy on my feet as I thought, because I was suddenly stumbling backwards into Peter. He wrapped his arms around me, sighed like he was put out in my ear and helped me to the couch. I went to sit back, but the room spun, so I leaned forward - elbows on my knees, hands up in my hair - and looked over as her rainbow-socked feet came into view. “What?”

“Coffee,” she tapped my shoulder, which made me sit up more and accept the cup she held out, before pointing to the bacon and scrambled eggs that sat there. “Eat.”

“Don’t alpha me,” I grumbled but reached for the bacon. She sat beside me on the couch, both of us going to the boys in the kitchen, all three of them, before I sighed. “There was a rift in the woods.”

“And?”

“The demon left a long time ago,” I shrugged, biting off a piece of the bacon, “I just made sure its route home was closed.”

“And.” 

Sitting up straight, I turned to her, looking as offended as I could, which wasn’t very much, since she rolled her eyes. 

“Right, so, if he steps back into the clearing... Poof,” I spread my fingers as much as I could, “be gone.”

“You shouldn’t be casting alone.” Her scolding was normal, but I knew what she meant.

“I wasn’t,” I gestured towards the kitchen, “Scott was there.”

“And he has no idea who you are or what you do, so again, you shouldn’t be casting…  _ alone. _ ”

“My  _ Gods, _ you’re mean,” I jabbed playfully before eating more bacon, “and bossy.”

“Shut up, eat your eggs.” She got up and walked away, headed right for the boys.

Scott slid into the seat beside me, sitting quietly while he fidgeted enough that it caused me to break the concentration I had on my food, to turn towards him.

“ _ What _ , alpha?” I snapped, but smirked seconds after, and watched the flare of red in his eyes, bringing back that confidence from the woods. 

“You did that on purpose,” his voice was low, almost dangerous.

“Because you don’t have to put on a show for your pack.” I whispered back, locking eyes with him, “they know who you are, what you’re capable of and none of them  _ need _ to be coddled. You’re an alpha, not a damn babysitter. You don’t always have to be the good guy.”

“I don’t get you,” he scowled.

“What’s there to get,” and returned a smirk, “like I said, I’m just here to do a job, now what do you want?”

“I’ll be back in three hours, Stiles wants us to meet him at the station.” 

“Okay,” I agreed, but turned it over. “Why?”

Scott grumbled, scratched at his head, and rolled his eyes. “The personal effects of the first victim.”

“Alright, sounds good.” I agreed and went back to my food.

“Just like that?” He was frustrated and oh, this was fun. “You give me hell and then you just agree?” I nodded, not verbally answering him as I picked at the eggs. “You are the most frustrating woman I have ever met.”

“But you can count yourself lucky you’ve met me,” I smiled, picked up the cup and winked at him. 

Scott got up in a tither, grabbed his coat from the chair and stomped out of the room, the sound of his exit was punctuated by the slamming of the lock on the door. I glanced up when Derek took the spot on the floor opposite my plate and Peter occupied the space beside me. Gwen placed her tea down gently and got comfortable on the cushion beside Derek. 

“Are you purposely trying to piss him off?” The green-eyed man in front of me questioned. 

I coughed twice, covering the fact that question nearly had me choking on my food, but smiled and shook my head. “No, if I was really trying, you’d know. I actually like Scott, which is more than I can say for others,” and just as a tease, I elbowed Peter’s thigh, which caused the man to grunt. “Call it more of,” I had to think for a moment on it, “tough love. Dude’s an alpha but I swear he acts like a sixteen year old around all of you.”

“He’s always been that way.” Derek spoke up, a little aggravated that I had gotten involved.

“Yeah, ever see him out of his element? No pack around to show off to?” I swore sometimes Derek was a long lost angel because that scowl could give Castiel a run for his money. I rolled my eyes because he  _ had _ to know whatever tactic he was using wasn’t going to work. “Look,” I sat forward, elbows to knees again, and caught those green eyes with mine, “Derek, Scott isn’t a kid, he’s the leader of a pack. You guys alone are fucking powerful, I can’t imagine what you’d be like if you were all together, but he plays the part of the good guy, and I get it. It may be part of a strategy, it might just be him, but it’s complete bullshit because he’s going to have to be taken seriously sometime.”

“You’re telling me like I don’t know all of this,” Derek whispered, low, as if the other two weren’t in the room with us and we were surrounded by a thousand other people. “You think I haven’t watched him from the beginning?”

“No, I know you have, which is why I also know that given the chance you’d knock him on his ass and give him hell for not standing up, but you might never get that chance and neither will he, so why not let an outsider do it for you?” 

“You can’t seriously be talking about putting yourself in the way of an alpha?” Peter’s hand rested on my shoulder, but I could feel his thumb moving along the edge of my collarbone, tugging me back to look at him. “That’s pure insanity. The full moon is coming, he could kill you.”

“And  _ it _ ... whatever  _ it _ is, could kill him.” I stood, moved away from the group, fought to keep my hands at my sides before I stopped in front of Stiles’ crime board and started to relax. 

I didn’t realize that was what had bothered me this whole time. Alpha or not, werewolves or not, they were still vulnerable because we didn’t have a fucking clue what was going on, how to catch it, and most definitely didn’t know how to kill it. They were all wide open targets, and here we were sitting in a loft having breakfast. 

I heard Gwen approach before I saw her and finally managed to cross my arms as I shifted my weight, still staring at that damn board. 

“He didn’t mean it.” 

“What?” I whispered, rolling my head to the side to look up at her. She had spoken so carefully that I knew if I snapped at her, she would react. “What didn’t he mean? And which one?”

“Peter, Derek, whichever, take your pick.” She moved towards the table, putting her back against it and used it to lean on, relaxing enough so that I felt at ease to do the same, and dammit, it worked. 

I bit my lip, gave her a shrug, and sighed. “Yeah, I know. We’re all still trying to feel each other out, that thing in the woods didn’t help.” 

“You think that’s where it came from?”

“Nah, too old, a couple decades at least, and besides, this thing isn’t a demon, that’s for damn sure. Demons don’t leave mummified bodies behind,” I sighed, stepped forward and pulled the picture of victim number one off the wall before I leaned back beside her. “They leave nice, juicy, messes that somehow we have to come up with explanations for. We should send Crowley a gift basket for not letting it be one of his guys this time. Saves us some trouble.”

“So, we’re still going with the plan?”

“No reason to drift from it.”

“You know, something got me last night....”

“Really?” I glanced over at her. “Was it a mosquito? I heard the ones out here are vicious, or maybe that was just up in Washington state. No, wait, Santa Carla.”

“Cut it out!” She groaned, rolling her eyes. I guess my vampire movie references were unappreciated. “I mean something you started to say last night.” I blinked at her, not lost but not sure what she was referencing. “You said,  _ So, Stiles _ ?”

“Oh, right, and you said too young for me, so we got off the topic,” which made sense that she was bringing it up, I did leave it hanging. “Well, you’re in luck, because I totally forgot what I was going to say about him.” I glanced down at my clothes, felt the itch of the knife at my back and sighed. “I need to change. Be ready to go when Scott gets here, it’s only fair, I guess.”

“Hey, are you okay?” I put the picture down on the table as I stepped away, but stopped when she asked, inhaled deeply and slowly let it out before I glanced around the loft. 

“I don’t know.” And with that, I walked to our room, grabbed my duffle and headed towards the bathroom for a shower.

~~~~~

Derek was gone by the time I got out, apparently having gotten a call, which left Peter, Gwen, and I to entertain ourselves. She stole the shower next, giving Peter the open opportunity to corner me alone. As I straightened out my bag, I felt him behind me, lurking in the door. I huffed, straightened, and glanced over my shoulder at him.

“Ever thought of going into investigating?” I was being completely sarcastic, “you’d make a hell of a private dick.”

“Ha ha,” he replied dryly before he kicked off the door and moved further into the room. “You told her you didn’t know if you were okay? Is that a side effect of using your magic.”

“I don’t have magic,” I sighed, bunched up the shirt I was trying to fold into a ball and held it as I stared at him. “What makes you even think I have some sort of magic?”

“Casting?” He stared blankly, “alone? I’m not a moron, far from it actually. I know what casting is.”

“It wasn’t that kind of…” I huffed, tried to make myself get angry at the worried look in his eyes, one that didn’t seem to breach the carefully constructed  _ I don’t give a shit _ mask on his face, but found all I could do was scowl. “I don’t have to defend my actions to you.”

“No, but you can tell me how you closed a door to hell? One my family has been keeping watch on for three decades, that’s protected by Celtic magic? You could at least tell me that much.” He moved close, stopping far enough away that I had to tilt my head up a tad to catch his ice blue eyes. “You don’t make liking you easy, do you?”

“I’m not here to make friends, Hale.” I sighed, tossed the balled up shirt on the bed. 

“No, you keep saying you’re here to do a job,” he blinked lazily at me, almost like he was bored. “Well, you’re not very good at it, by the way, that and at not making friends.”

“You gonna tell me that you’re my friend?” I let the smile curve up at the last word and saw the exasperated look on his face, clearly rehearsed and fake. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Keep trying, big guy.” I patted him on the stomach as I moved to step by, but he stopped me by reaching out to take my hand, gently holding it in his. “Peter.”

“Whatever you did on the preserve drained you,” he spoke softly, staring at my fingers, moving them softly between his for a moment before his eyes landed on mine, “you need to be careful.”

“I’m not the only one in danger here.” 

“No, but you’re the only one I don’t want to see hurt.” He quickly kissed my fingers, then promptly marched out of the room, leaving me to stare at his back. 

This was going to be a really, really long day.

~~~~~

When Scott arrived, things seemed to move quickly. Peter and Gwen followed us out of the building, securing the locks and the access code before stopping by a classic 1975 hunter green Jaguar. I slowed to look it over, because who doesn’t appreciate a great looking car, and watch as Gwen narrowed her eyes at it.

“Your dad didn’t have one, did he?” I moved to stand beside her as she took in everything about it. 

“It’s a XJ6C,” Gwen whispered, “and it’s a ‘75, he probably would have passed.” She was just as picky as her dad was, so she would know. “ But I have to say, this is one nice looking car.”

“Thank you,” Peter preened.

“Oh, Gods, now you did it,” I smirked up at her as she rolled her eyes. 

“Never thought it was possible, but,” she glanced down at me, “I’m sorry?”

“Yep, you should be,” I smiled, stepping away, “never underestimate me when I tell you that there is always a way to make someone who’s full of themselves be an even bigger…” I glanced at Peter, saw the way he was looking me over, waiting for it and sighed, “douche.”

Gwen smiled, gave me a wave and got into the car. Peter scowled, slipping in behind the wheel, as I hopped into Scott’s SUV. We sat in silence as the taillights of the vehicle disappeared in a blaze of a right turn at the end of the lot before Scott turned the engine over and put it in drive. 

“I wanted to apologize,” his tone was light, soft, like he was trying not to upset me.

“There wasn’t a thing you said to me today that I didn’t antagonize out of you someway or another, so there’s no need for apologies.” I glanced over at him, watching the way he squeezed the wheel. “But, I see you’re a little on edge, so why don’t you tell me what’s really wrong?”

“What did you do in the woods? What magic did you use?” I nodded, because, okay, I should have seen that coming. 

“Well, I could tell ya, but then I’d have to kill ya, and it might not go over well for pack relations.” Scott looked at me as if he were completely lost, but then ever so slowly, a smile crept up on his face. “Ah, see, that’s more like it.”

“I wanted to be serious, Jai. We don’t see stuff like that around here, not usually anyway, and most hunters don’t use magic of any kind.” 

I guess that makes for some good reasons to be a little uneasy. I pondered a moment before I shifted in my seat, turning to look at him. “Okay, I’m going to tell you something that no one but a few people know, so, I was kinda being serious too.”

“Okay, so I don’t tell anyone,” he nodded, “I can do that.”

“Alright.” God, why was I doing this again? “I’m not like most hunters. I’m more like you in a way. I’ve been changed by something that happened to me, but unlike you, I did this to myself.”

“Why?”

“To save the people I love.” I shrugged. “A little over ten years back, someone I cared about got the short… no, not got, took the short end of a deal, and what I did helped set the wheels in motion to get him out, or at least that’s what I was told at the time.” I let my gaze drift out the window, but I could still feel him looking at me, going from navigating the road to catching glimpses of me before going back. “They were wrong, and I was… cursed, damned,” I caught him as he turned towards me at a light and shrugged, “doesn’t matter what I was, I came back different.”

“You don’t seem different, or bad,” he was being serious and I smiled, nodding because this kid was actually just laying his heart out there.

“I’m not… bad,” I shivered saying, “but I can sense evil, trap it… kill it.” 

“And what you did in the woods?” 

“I can use it.” I didn’t mean for that to come out as a whisper, but apparently it did and caught his attention as he reached out for me but I just held up a hand. “It’s okay, Scott. It drains me when I’m not prepared, works a hell of a lot better when I’m angry, and comes in handy a lot more where I’m from, but it doesn’t hurt me.”

“Do you change? Like me?” The sound of a horn behind him had him shifting into gear and pulling away from the light but he was still curious.

“I shift a little, just my eyes mainly, but I can do other things with it.” I wasn’t sure why it was so easy to tell him this, to tease Peter, to rely on Derek, or to just want to be around Stiles, but I knew Gwen felt it too. Maybe it just called to our darker side. “Like what you saw in the woods, I can do a form of magic, mainly with sigils, but I understand languages and can learn them faster than most.” He pulled up in front of the station, turned the vehicle off and sighed, like it was a huge relief. “But, Scott, there’s one thing you can absolutely never do.”

I watched Stiles move out of the doors, adjust his belt, and scan the parking lot, catching us both with a smile the moment he saw us.

“Name it,” he turned to look right at me, and I took a deep breath.

“Never tells Stiles.”


	5. Gwen

**Gwen** ****

The moment Scott arrived, it was as if someone had hit the fast forward button. Jai was up and moving, and the most she could talk about was the stuff she really needed to tell Stiles, but to my knowledge the only thing she had to share with him was what happened in the woods, and it was mostly only to hear his reply. She had this strange fascination with the way he ranted, which would have been interesting to see the moment the two of them really got on a subject they both knew about.

Peter and Scott talked quietly near the kitchen as I patiently laced my boots, because even if I finished faster, we were still waiting on Jai who was taking her time with something on the crime board. It was calling to her, drawing her back time and again, and she still couldn’t place it, nor could she tell me just what the hell she was looking at.

I had scanned it all into the laptop the night before, letting the program I had designed specifically to detect significant similarities do its job. The main focus was trying to narrow down the locations and the evidence found there. So far, nothing. Which is why I could totally see Jai’s frustration of it all.

Although… “Come on, Lancing”

There were only so many hours in the day.

“Gods!” She grumbled, snatching her coat off the chair beside her. “Fine!”

Peter stepped up to me as I hooked my bag over my arm, and sighed. “Remind me why we’re letting her hang out with Stilinski again, because I swear I keep hearing his voice come out of her mouth.”

“It's uncanny, and honestly terrifying,” he agreed, following Scott out the door. Jai was down two floors before we even made it to the first landing, sliding and locking the loft behind us. 

That was about the time my watch flashed with an incoming call. Peter picked up on the change in my heart rate before I slipped the ear pod into my ear. He gave a curt nod and went on ahead, catching up with Scott and the smallish hunter.

I pressed accept on the call, and sighed. “Hello, Dean.”

_ “Hello?” _ Dean’s deep voice reprimanded. “It’s been twenty-four hours, and you answer with ‘hello’? Not ‘I’m alive, but Jai got us kidnapped by aliens,’ or ‘Jai was arrested for B & E so I spent the night breaking her out,’ just ‘hello’.”

“Okay, one. Yes, it’s been a day, but that doesn’t mean that anything happened, we’re on a case. And two, you realize you blame the bad in your scenarios on Jai? What happens if it was me who contacted the aliens, which would be more to the point since she doesn’t like to fly let alone be dragged into space.” Dean scoffed loudly in my ear, which made me smile. “It’s just a case, Dean, and we’re taking our time getting the evidence.”

“A case with hunters that we don’t know and neither do you.  _ You _ realize the last time you hooked up with a new hunter, he was a ghoul and almost ate you? Gwen, Bobby sent Cas out to help save your life.”

“Argent is perfectly fine, besides, he knows Bobby.”

“And?”

“And Bobby didn’t know who Elias was.”

“Oh,” he paused in his rant, “really?”

“Yes,” I huffed, making my way down to the next landing as if the woman outside might not actually be trying to get Peter to bite her. She may well have been, but as far as casual went, this was me trying to concentrate on the man on the phone and not the hunter outside with two werewolves. “He didn’t know him, I went on that hunt all on my own. So far, Argent has shown to be very well prepared for this and not at all an idiot.”

“Still.” I could almost hear him pouting. “Hey, where are you anyway? Bobby won’t say.”

“Just some small place east of Sacramento.”

“That’s it? That’s all you’re gonna give me?”

“Do you really need more? We don’t need you coming in to save us, Dean, we’re perfectly capable of saving ourselves. But, if you really need to know we’re in Sutter Creek, where the nightlife rolls up the sidewalks at nine p.m.”

“Sounds like a blast.”

“So far it’s been relatively quiet, but Jai and I are headed to the Sheriff’s station now. I really have to go. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner.” I stopped just inside the door to watch as Jai backed Scott up against the truck, her finger pointed right in his face, but the man didn’t even seem to react, he just looked at her in confusion. “I really have to go.”

“Okay, I’m sorry I snapped,” he seemed to deflate at that, and sighed, “be safe, alright?”

“I will,” was all I replied, ending the call right after. 

I knew he was worried, but there wasn’t any way I could have him here, not with the pack so close. It was a quick thought, but the possibility of having Cas swing out, just to verify our safety might do a whole lot to keep the Winchesters locked in place. 

“Hey, G!” I heard my name called out above my inner turmoil and glanced at the way she eyed over the car in front of her.

Moving out into the sun, I took in the 1975, hunter-green Jaguar that sat parked beside a clunky SUV. She was admiring the vehicle, arms crossed, head tilted just a bit before she pointed at it and glanced at me as I narrowed my eyes at it.

“Your dad didn’t have one, did he?” She moved to stand beside me as I took in everything about the car, not something that I would find that interesting. 

“It’s a XJ6C,” I shrugged, unimpressed, “and it’s a ‘75, he probably would have passed.” I could be just as picky as my dad, and knew what I myself preferred but there was one thing about classics, you had to give props. “ But I have to say, this is one nice looking car.”

“Thank you,” Peter preened, and oh, Heavens, why?

“Oh, Gods, you did it,” Jai’s smirk was almost as bad as the light-haired wolf’s chest puffing out like he had taken down a prize buffalo on his own, and I couldn’t stop the roll of my eyes. 

“Never thought it was possible, but,” I huffed, returning her stare before I shook my head and looked at Peter, still smirking like he had won, “I’m sorry.”

“Yep, you should be,” she laughed, stepping away, “never underestimate me when I tell you that there is always a way to make someone who’s full of themselves be an even bigger…” Her insults were normal but what was stranger than his preening was the way he followed her movements, not so much like a predator but something a little more familiar, intimate, that was until she stopped at the door to the SUV, glanced at him and winked. “Douche.”

Peter’s jaw clenched visibly when she got into the car, after a small wave in my direction, and his irritation only served to further my humor of the situation. She really did like him. She was that strange girl on the playground growing up, the one who knew just what to say to a boy in private that got him hooked, but floored him in public by doing something mean or uncharacteristic of a girl. Jai was unfortunately the epitome of ‘if a girl picks on you, she likes you,’ because she definitely liked Peter.

I slipped into the car, getting comfortable in the leather seats. They were crap when the sun was high and shining right in on them, hot as hell on your ass in shorts, but right now, they were cool. The leather was soft under the touch, and the cushions themselves weren’t the solid stone of most newer cars. 

It smelled good, what you would think Peter would if he were close enough to catch his scent, not that I wanted to. An expensive Armani suit, something like Tom Ford in the way of cologne, because Paco Rabanne was too much for him. Peter, himself, was too intense for most people, but the air he gave off was light, subtle, something waiting in the grass for its prey. 

Okay, I was analyzing him way too much, finding too many things to like about him, seeing him from Jai’s perspective. So, when he opened her up, giving her the gas she needed to fly, after turning away from the building and gliding down the street towards the less crowded roads, I sighed.

“Are you compensating for something?” I questioned, and that got a look from him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“The car. Something with a fast engine, looks expensive, all the bells and whistles?” I smirked. “Too much like a souped-up truck for guys who are lacking. So what are you compensating for?”

“Nothing,” he growled, keeping his eyes on the ground. “I don’t have anybody to show off for, I don’t have anyone I need to impress. I happened to enjoy fast cars that look nice on the outside.”

“Then you should think about trading it in.” I cleared my throat, glancing out the window beside me. “You know, if you like the seventies, a Ford…”

“No.” Peter shook his head.

“Even a 1974 Chevy…”

He interrupted again, “no.”

“It’s comparable to several different…”

“I don’t care.” He sighed, finally looking at me. “What are you trying to do?”

“Nothing.” I shrugged, unfazed by the way he kept cutting off my sentences. “I just think I have a little bit more insight into classic cars than you do, especially if you chose this one, so I thought I would offer my service.”

“Oh, is that it? And here I thought your alpha counterpart was opinionated, but look at you go, omega.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about him using a designation from our world, but I kept my mouth shut. “Did she give you other books to read besides your research ones?” The disdain in his voice leaked through, like something about his own statement pissed him off.

“Fuck you, Peter.” I kept my words to a whisper, kept the anger out of them, even though I know he was just handing me back what I was serving him. “Don’t talk about her. And you know nothing about me.”

“I know you’re a tool,” his eyes snapped back in my direction. “You said yourself you’re just a researcher. Something for her to use. You always have, haven’t you? Been something people use? I bet no matter how far you look back, people have always come to you for something, but no one ever lets  _ you _ come to them, let’s you lead.”

“That doesn’t matter,” I scowled, brushing it off, to keep the fact that I knew just as much about hunting and fighting as Jai did to myself, “and that’s not how we are.”

“You said you listen to her because she’s the one that hunts, that makes the rules, and you follow them.” I saw what he was doing, trying to get under my skin, and I realized, it wasn’t me he was trying to hurt, there was something else going on.

“What is it?” I sighed, saw the flicker of an emotion in his face, and then watched him stow it. So much like Dean in that way. Oh, and congrats to me, that damn minor in Psychology that I was studying for was working just fine right now. “What are you deflecting?”

“I’m not, I’m simply stating facts.” He ground out through clenched teeth.

“And attacking me for no other reason than to release stress and anger.”

“Making phallic references to my car wasn’t you doing the same?” He smirked, but it was fake, full of another sentiment written in his eyes. “You don’t get it,  _ hunter _ , that you are in a situation so far over your head that there’s no way out but your death.”

“You think so?” I shook my head, waited for it, seeing the edge of it right there on his face. “And this situation, it ends with our death?”

“YES!” he finally barked out, and by that I literally mean barked, because you could hear the wolf under his tone. “You don’t understand how fragile you both are! You are in the middle of an actual pack of wolves, in a place that attracts evil, monstrous things, doing evil, monstrous things to people just. Like. You!”

“Oh, I see.” I really did because he finally gave it away. “You’re afraid.”

“I’m more than afraid,” he yanked the wheel to the left, pulling the Jag into the parking lot of a run down building.  _ Hale Industries _ written on the side, and threw the car in park, before he looked at me with his bright blue eyes, the power of his wolf shining in them. “I’m terrified, and you should be too. Your human lives are fleeting, one bite from an alpha and you either die or turn into the things you hunt, and don’t deny anything because I know you.”

“You know me?” I grinned, listened to him cut the engine as he placed one hand on the wheel and the other on my seat, leaning closer. In an instant, I had a blade in my hand, the curved edge of the tip pressed against the underside of his neck, even as the corners of his lips turned up. “Close enough.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re not just an  _ omega _ , my friend, maybe there is more to you,” he sighed and slipped back, hand going to the door as he looked me over. “Come on, it’s this way.”

I slipped out of the car, bag in hand and moved at his pace, but while my mind seemed to be analyzing the words that he had belted out, part of my hunting instincts were keeping track of where we were going. 

That was what bothered him, our human condition, the ease of the way we could die, change or suddenly disappear from his life. It had been just about twenty-four hours since we stepped into the lives of the pack, or at least the lives of these four members, but Peter’s had already been irrevocably changed forever. 

And he really was terrified. 

The basement was filled with several cold storage units, but the one he led me to was enclosed, a room of its own, white and sterile like a medical examiner’s lab, and as I looked around at all the latest technology, the quiet man moved to one of the four refrigerated doors. He glanced at me, yanked on the handle and pulled out the metal tray, exposing the sheet covered body.

As I approached, he waited, eyes on me and the only thing that moved on his body, until I stood on the other side of the slab. When he had my attention, he pulled back the sheet, the cool husk of what was once a man lay before us.

There was no smell, no other obvious sign of progressing decomp, but the state of his eyes seemed a little more dried out than the young man they had at Beacon Memorial. They weren’t puffed out anymore, no, these were shrinking in. 

“Where are the fluids going?” I grabbed a penlight from the tray beside me, crouching down to shine it in his ear. There was no evidence of leaking in, or around the socket, and nothing in it’s canal. 

“My guess, they’re not going anywhere, they’re evaporating.” Peter sighed, the first calm thing he had said since he got into the car. Of course, he was Peter and the next question out of his mouth was a play for information. “How does Jai know magic?”

And there it was.

“It’s a long story, and frankly none of your business,” I replied and leaned in a little closer to the body, examining the remains with more of a focused eye. “You had the autopsy done?”

“Yes, since the department thought it was a Halloween hoax, I thought a proper exam was needed.” He cleared his throat. “I think if it’s done on my property, it should be my business. What she closed, it should have been impossible for one person. We had a coven holding it for decades and never once have we gotten it anywhere close to shut. Please, tell me what I need to know.”

“You need to know she’s not going to use it on you.” I smiled up at him, but went back to examining the skin when there was a flash of relief in his eyes. “What kind of technique did they find was used in the process? This isn’t like anything I’ve come across in my studies?”

“You’ve studied mummification?” I could feel those judgy blue eyes focused on the top of my head.

“I did an internship at the Smithsonian Institute, there’s a lot I’ve studied.” I shrugged.

“It’s not a known method.” He stepped away from the table, moving around to play with the different instruments. “They mentioned that whatever caused it, it was done from the inside out.”

“Inside out,” I repeated, just to myself, and stood. “Exsanguination of the body, before the individual organs and spinal fluid are removed,” again, to myself and not directly to Peter, reciting my observations. “No outside puncture wounds, or any indication of a pump being used to drain them. The only mark other than tattoos is…” I paused, letting the words from the report flow from my lips. “Come help me turn it over.”

“What?” He bit out from across the room as I grabbed two pairs of gloves, holding one out for him. “Are you kidding?”

“No, I need help, now,” I waved the gloves and watched as he gave me nearly the same huff and  _ do I have to _ slump of his shoulders that Jai did every time I asked her. It was funny how she was okay with blood and gore, but dead bodies in morgues were just not her favorite things. Peter snatched the gloves, pulling them on as he watched me do the same. “Take the legs and when I say, slowly turn him towards me until we get him onto his stomach.”

“Him or it, pick one,” was the only thing he came back with, but started to turn the body when I nodded. He stepped back as soon as it was settled and I smiled as his brows went up. “Whoa.”

“Yeah, exactly.” There on the lower back, about the L3, was the same sigil that Jai had seen in the dirt hiding in the picture from Stiles’ board. “Tell me about your Druids?”

“Why?” But all I did was spin my hand, like a  _ get on with it _ gesture and he sighed. 

“I need something to concentrate on while I look, and I don’t think my music is your taste.” It wasn’t a lie, though I hadn’t done an extensive exam in a long time, the methods of sinking into the zone were the same as researching when Jai wasn’t home to catch a line and sing with it completely out of tune. “So, your Druids, tell me about them.”

“Our,” Peter rolled his eyes, “our packs have been connected with the Druids for centuries, creating a sort of bond. They use their magic to protect us, and we use their counsel to help with pack relations.”

“Emissaries,” I nodded, understanding the concept.

“Yes,” he crossed his arms and started to pace behind me, not that it was bothersome but in my line of sight would have had me irritated. “Deaton, the Hale pack emissary passed a few years ago. Before he did, he told us that should we need another, one would find us, but we’re not holding our breath. They set up most of the warding spells around here, protection from the outside, and around the doorway that your friend so graciously closed.” 

“She has a way of making herself useful.” I agreed, poking at the top of the spine. There wasn’t another mark on his back, but one could never be too cautious when looking for points of entry. “So, you don’t get much in the way of outside magic around here, right? Usually it keeps to creatures who are more like shifters than witches?”

“Correct, we’ve had our share of things that go bump in the night.” He scoffed, and I heard a few of the tools behind me lift from the tray. I wasn’t on guard, there didn’t seem a need to be. If Peter wanted to injure me, he was more than capable of using just his claws and there was no reason to use whatever that tray held, which clearly wasn’t a scalpel. “How did the two of you meet?”

“Her adopted father sent her to my house one afternoon,” I shrugged.

“And he knew you?”

“Because he and my father are hunters too.”

There wasn’t anything he could do with the information. My father was dead and Bobby was, well, Bobby, that in itself kept the old man safe. 

“You were born into it?” 

“Developed into it, is more like it. My father didn’t want me to have anything to do with the business, but I had a knack for finding out things that most people couldn’t.”

“And Jai?”

“She always says people get into hunting for two reasons; you were raised to do it,” I stood up and looked him straight in the eye, “or revenge.”

“Knowing the hunter, it was probably both.” His smirk was a fond one and I rolled my eyes. I never knew how she could hook them so fast, but Jai had another one tucked in her belt, and this one was a wolf.

“Actually, neither, that we know of,” which wasn’t quite a lie. “We know her father worked it, but her fascination with it came more from the fact that she attracted the trouble, she didn’t go looking for it. Why are you so interested anyway?”

“I hate things that I can’t figure out.” 

“Well, good luck,” I scoffed and went back to the body, starting on the lower “T” vertebrae, “I’ve known her for decades and still haven’t met anyone who’s solved that one.”

“Have you tried?”

“There’s no reason.”

“Why?”

“She is who she is, I see no reason for figuring out more than that.” Taking a breath, I stopped at the symbol etched into the skin and cocked my head just a bit. “There’s something specific about where this is placed. Here, come look.” Peter moved to the other side of the table, as I flicked on the overhead light, aiming it directly at the circle. A line broke it down through the middle, extending past the circle itself. At the bottom, a triangle completed the line, almost like a target with an arrow through it, but it was missing the head. “This starts just about the L3 vertebrae, and if you were into the whole chakra thing, this would put it just about the navel, your Sacral chakra, which is vitality.”

“And you know this, how?” 

I rubbed the back of my hand against my forehead in frustration, was he really not paying attention. “I studied, a lot, remember?”

“I thought that was just on mummification,” but I could tell just by the shift of his voice that he was teasing. 

“Oh, trust me, Egyptian studies was probably the least of my majors in college,” I smiled and looked down at the way the scar rose. “The base of the point, here,” I tapped it with the end of the pointer, “this lands on the root chakra. Passion, excitement, energy.”

“So, it wasn’t just the blood that it was taking?”

“I don’t think it took a drop of it,” I shifted back, looked over the texture of the skin and narrowed my eyes back on the mark. “I think the blood and body dried up when it was taking his life force. That one, the root chakra, it’s also considered the gateway of life and death.”

“Where the soul lies?”

“Maybe,” I crossed my arms, shaking my head. “The question remains, who is he and why.” It was then that I noticed the strange discoloration on his hands. “Now, this is interesting.”

“What’s that?” Peter came around the table, just as I reached down and touched the curled hand. Crouching down, I moved to look at it a little more carefully, pulling the lamp down with me. “Why is it darker?”

“Your examiners didn’t notice it before?”

“They didn’t mention it to me.”

The palm of his hand, down to the tips of his fingers were darker, more like a black than the brown, leathery skin around it, but even on the fingers, it only went halfway up the outside. The one least affected was the thumb, but Peter moved out of my light to the otherside of the table, leaning down over that side. 

“It’s the same here.” 

“Why the discoloration, and why only on the hands?” Every time I thought we had a clue that led us one way, there was something that pointed us in another. Frustrated, I stood, clicked off the light and let my eyes adjust to the low glow of the overheads. Peter was still focused on the hands, leaning in to scent the skin around it, as if it might just be a little different, but he shook his head. We had nothing. “Is there anything else you can show me?” 

“I can take you down to the hospital, there might be something different on the one there.” He seemed all for it, not wanting this strange wave of clues to stop, and I nodded, because what was I going to say? No?

~~~~~

The woman who greeted us seemed pleasant enough, her brown hair all knotted up in a messy bun on top of her head, but it was the way she carried herself that told me there was something more to her. Of course, then I found out her name. 

“Melissa,” she said, holding out her hand, which I took but come on, who shakes hands anymore. Except Stiles, and Argent because they both did it when we arrived. It almost made me curious what twilight zone we had snuck into, but that was when I remember Peter standing beside me and how she  _ almost  _ ignored him. “McCall, I’m Scott’s mother.”

“Oh,” and that came out exactly how you thought it might. The look she gave me told me she wasn’t sure how to take it but I pulled off an Emmy-winning fake smile and she nodded. 

“You’re one of them,” she glanced around, was this her first time? Did she not know how this worked? “The hunters that Argent brought in, right?”

“Melissa,” Peter whispered softly, like he was lulling a wild animal, “we need to see it.”

“Okay, right.” Just like Scott. She glanced around, slipped him a card and smiled up at me. “The report is still down there, people are too freaked out to go in the room with it.”

“It’s just a man.” I replied, but while it would have contained my usual sarcasm, this did not, and I wondered what was happening to me. Concern for people’s emotional states was not something I did, but here I was coddling the mother of an alpha. “Have anymore arrived?”

“Are we expecting more?” She wasn’t dimwitted, she just wanted to be prepared, and I watched her sigh. “Sorry, it’s been a hell of a night with the full moon coming, things always get hectic around here about that time of month.”

“I can imagine with all the werewolves floating around,” I snipped, glancing up at Peter who did a shit job hiding his smirk. “You never know who might come in with a bite.” She gave me a weird smile, like I had hit the nail on the head but it wasn’t a laughing matter, before she cleared her throat and glanced over at the nurse’s station. There, smiling back at her, was a young man, handsome, blue eyed, and apparently not happy to see Peter, because that grin faltered and disappeared. “One of yours?”

“Unfortunately.” He slipped his fingers around my arm and tugged me gently towards the elevator. 

Melissa gave me a small wave, then moved towards the man, whose smile instantly returned. When the doors slowly closed those blue eyes were still locked on me, and Melissa happened to look in our direction too, which didn’t sit well with me at all. 

“Explain,” I glanced over at him, able to make eye contact since he stood at my height and I heard the pop of his neck as he rolled his shoulders like he was relieving tension.

“Theo Raeken,” was the only thing he said in reply.

“Ah, the chimera,” and that had him looking at me. “Good thing Jai wasn’t here, she’d be back up the stairs as soon as we stopped. Not that I’m not fascinated by the fact that you have several in your pack, but she just loves to see extraordinary things, and people. Theo would definitely be one of those distractions.”

Peter scoffed, blew heavily out his nose in irritations, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other just as the elevator stopped. I smiled, because I knew I had him. It was fun to get Jai riled up, to make her look twice, to get that irritation to come forward, but oh, it was so much more fun to get him riled over her.

I stepped out, turned to look at him as he stood there, seething, and gestured for him to come forward. “Let’s go, we haven’t got all day.”

He rolled his eyes at me, stepped past and moved towards the hallway to the right, headed right for those double doors under the mortuary sign. Holding it open, I slipped in, took in the rows of doors, much like at his set up, and sighed. The body was already out on the exam table, covered by a sheet, which I simply pulled back. Grabbing two pairs of exam gloves, I again held one out to him.

“This is so very odd,” I mumbled to myself, as I slipped on the gloves.

“What is?”

I gestured all around and shrugged. “Usually it’s more of a hassle to try and get into the morgue to examine the body.”

“How so?” 

“It typically involves fake IDs and a few misdemeanor charges. Sometimes a couple strategically placed lies and generally some pretty well thought out backstory.”

“And this time?”

“We walked right in. Nothing else. No guards, no waiting until after dark, no running for our lives when we’re done, unless you forgot to inform me that there will be running after this.”

“No,” Peter laughed, and it was actually quite charming, “no running.” The smile faded as he thought for a moment, “I would actually prefer not running at all, but as far as I know, there’s no running.”

“Okay, good.” 

“So, we’re looking for the same mark?” He stepped up, slipped them on with an annoying slap, something that reminded me of Jai, and grabbed for the legs as I gently rolled the shoulders. 

“Something like that, yes.” Laying it flat, I took my time, moving from the base of the head all the way down to the L3 vertebrae. There it was, the same symbol as before but this time, I took out my phone, snapped a picture and sent it off, there was something vaguely familiar about it but while I wasn’t expecting an answer back, I got one nonetheless. 

The  _ we have to talk _ text wasn’t unusual, it was just perfectly timed. But as I stepped back, slipped off one glove to start sending out a reply, I noticed one strange thing. 

“Peter,” he had taken off to look through the instruments on the counter, as if he were making a list of things to shop for in order to fulfill his own little morbid hobby. The casual strut he used to finally make it to me was annoying and painfully childish but when he stood to my right, I pointed down at the corpse. “What do you see that’s different?”

He snapped the glove again, leaning over to look at the man on the table and I saw the moment he noticed. His brows furrowed, he grabbed the light and brought it down, flicking it on to examine the arm. 

“There’s no staining on the fingers.” He stood straight, confused or thinking, I wasn’t sure but then he reached out and played with the hands. “This one was a musician, correct?”

I picked up the paperwork from the tray and flipped through it. “According to this, yes.”

“He has callouses on his fingertips,” Peter whispered, eyes narrowing as his thoughts seem to fade off into some inner memory bank. “Can you bring that with you?” I glanced up to see him pointing at the report. With a smirk, I slipped it into the messanger bag.

“Bring what with me?” He smiled at the way I spoke, lack of emotion in my voice, before I turned to the door. “Come on, Jai said we need to talk.”

“So, you’re just going to run to her?” He seemed a little put off about it.

“We’re done here.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Peter, we have a way we do things, when I say I’m done, it means I have everything I need, and trust me, I have  _ everything _ I need.” I watched as he just looked me over, like I wasn’t a threat, which was good, that meant the plan was working, and finally he headed towards the door, walking straight by. I shot a text out, let her know I was on my way, but the reply back was just as strange as the first.

_ Meet us at the festival. _

~~~~~

Every available space at the high school was filled with people, booths, and rides, and no matter how much I loved the thought of candied apples and funnel cake, I had to wonder why Jai would choose such a crowded public space to meet, she hated crowded public spaces. But as we pulled up and parked, the reason became all too clear.

The black Camaro was parked beneath a tree, giving the driver enough shade to be comfortable in its confines but as soon as Peter whipped the Jag into the open space beside him, I found myself staring as Derek slipped out, nothing but jeans and a tee-shirt hugging his body as he slipped the sunglasses off. 

There were few men that caught my attention, since it was usually too focused on Dean and Cas to see many others, but Derek, in wolf form and not, was definitely something to look at. Peter rolled his eyes, snatched the keys and got out, no doubt hearing the rise in my heart rate, I said screw it and followed after. I wasn’t embarrassed, he was good looking and he knew it, so when I outwardly let my eyes travel down his body, the expected smirk he gave was just that, expected.

We stood between the cars, the three of us, and Derek glanced around, before he held out a paper. 

“What’s this?” Taking it, it was easy to see that it was some sort of report.

“Argent found another one,” he kept his voice low, even though there was no one around to listen.

“Another body?” Peter huffed, “this is beginning to feel like old times.”

“Another victim.” I corrected, as Derek gave me a quick nod. “It’s a cold case, and it’s nearly five years old.”

“He has more information, but we thought it would be good to at least share this.” The phone in my pocket went off, making me glance down at my watch. “Come on, we can go over it with the rest of the gang.”

“I didn’t realize we were in a children’s cartoon.” The older Hale huffed.

Derek rolled his eyes at Peter’s grouchiness, a new development since we arrived. “Didn’t they say to meet them here?”

“By the stage,” I replied, but my eyes were on the page in my hands. Jai was definitely going to want to see this.

Derek slipped his fingers between mine and the paper before he gently removed it from my hand and folded it up, tucking it in his back pocket.

“You can look at it again later,” the gentleness in his voice was nice to hear, but there was something about it that made me shake. 

The only thing I could do was let him guide me along, Peter at our side, into the swarm of people that waited just beyond the ropes.


	6. Jai

**Jai**

Standoffs were one of my new favorite things. Standing off against a twitchy twenty-eight year old man with a bit of ADHD was my new favorite thing ever. He wasn’t as impressed as he looked at me, eyes narrowing slowly when I smiled before he blinked, swore at himself under his breath, then he turned his back to me. 

I glanced over at Scott, who stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed, smiling and gave the alpha a wink before I turned back to Stiles. I was sitting on his desk, as we waited for his father to finish up with a phone call, and I was getting bored. The bet had been whoever blinked first owed the other a cup of coffee and if you know me when it comes to coffee, there’s no way I wasn’t winning that. 

Scott stepped closer as the door opened, as if he were expecting trouble but his eyes just scanned the room before landing back on mine and he stepped away again. That was odd, but I figured I could chalk it up to Scott being Scott and this whole thing being weird. When Stiles returned, he handed off the cup without a word and raised his own to his mouth just as his father opened the door to the office, waving the three of us in.

Introductions were as strange this time as they had been every other moment of this case. It was more than awkward meeting an officer of the law that wasn’t about to book me, even more so that I gave him my true name and didn’t have to worry about a fake ID… all that and he was about to let us in on the case.

Except that my eyes were drawn to the photos and papers behind his head. Just like his son, Noah Stilinski had a crime board, the difference with this one was that it was so much more detailed.

“Don’t look at that.” The Sheriff caught my attention, waving my hand at it, but I blinked back the more sarcastic comments and went with “too late,” before I rounded the desk and leaned down closer to one particular photo.

“She does this, Dad, it’s okay.” Stiles defended me as I pulled the tack that held it in place and stood straight. “Jai, don’t take the man’s stuff apart.”

“Where was this?” I questioned, trying not to be brisk but when I looked up, I knew it had come off that way. “I apologize, but I’ve seen it before.”

This got Noah’s attention. 

What I was looking at was a tree, and carved into the base of it was the very symbol that I had seen in the dirt at the loft. He held out a hand, and waited patiently for me to fork over the goods, which I did hesitantly. Noah looked at me, glanced at the picture and stood from the desk.

“Come with me.” 

I hate authority figures, especially vague ones, but Stiles smiled, reached out and took my hand, which was weird, but I didn’t pull away as he followed his father out of the room, dragging me behind him. Scott took up the back and the three of us made our way down to the interrogation rooms. When Noah opened the door, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Talk about a crime board, this was a crime room! Oh, I wish Gwen could see this. I was in heaven. Two walls were littered with photos, there was actual string everywhere and the table was covered in evidence bags. With one stern look at me, the sheriff waved us in. 

“There’s one rule in here, don’t open the bags.” He ordered, like we were kids in a candy store, but I almost laughed when his eyes focused straight on Stiles. The deputy rolled his eyes and waved off his dad as he pulled me into the space. “This photo,” he waved the one he held in his hand as he gestured to a spot on the wall, “was taken at the scene when we found our third victim.”

“The one currently taking up a slab at the hospital?” I verified as I slipped away from Stiles and moved about, starting at the beginning of the investigation. That’s how it was set up, like a timeline. The “hoax” victim, then the woman, then finally victim number three, but this was so much more detailed. “Stiles said he would take me out to the locations. That still okay with you?”

“Most are thoroughly cataloged,” Noah shrugged, “not much else you can get from them that isn't here.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Dad, I’ve seen Jai and her partner do some interesting stuff since they’ve arrived.” I glanced over at Stiles, who stood, eyes to the board, with his hands on his hips. There was a look on his face that I couldn’t place, but it was Scott’s smirk when I shot the alpha a peek that told me something really was off, before the smile slowly fading from Stiles’ face and he shrugged. “They work pretty well.”

“Anything you find...” he started but I waved him off.

“That’s why Stiles will be there, it will come straight to you.” Okay, so maybe I lied a little, because anything left was supernatural and there was no way to explain how we were going to find it. Noah nodded, and slipped out of the room.

I turned back to the board, took a deep breath, and committed it to memory. What’s more, I relaxed and let it come forward in my mind. 

“What’s she doing?” Stiles questioned softly, and I could hear the alpha behind me.

“Sorting it out would be my guess.” I could almost picture Scott shrug as Noah shut the door. 

In my mind - in that large mansion where we stored things, compartmentalized our feelings and our information - I let the important things come forward, the unnecessary things slid towards the back, fading into the darkness, until I was standing in the middle of what looked like a hanging art gallery.

I had tried to explain this once to Gwen that this was the reason I didn’t put everything in a journal, or the computer. It was the way my mind worked with the boards, but she just looked at me as if I were insane, or a little more than usual and went back to her work before telling me that whatever way was best for me, but this was it.

As I moved through, I deleted the papers, anything with printed words from memory and kept only the pictures. The bodies, broken down into parts at the scenes, the ground and trees around them - in the case of victim number three - and slowly put it together so that I was looking at a whole person, or persons. 

And then I moved onto the next.

It was number two that got me, the woman who actually survived, and I stepped back, seeing her in the hospital bed, the photos from the ambulance, evidence of where she had spent the last few hours of her enchantment and I slowly opened my eyes to look at the boys. Both who were staring at me confused.

“What?” I shook off the uneven feeling being stuck in my mind space had always left me with and moved towards the board, taking the pins from the photos of a certain Megan Osbring, before I moved towards the blank wall. 

“You were singing,” Stiles whispered.

Okay, if you knew me singing wasn’t an unusual thing, but doing it during one of those sessions definitely was. “Oh, yeah, what was it?”

“Wicked games,” Scott answered, but smiled as I looked at him just a bit confused. 

“Chris Isaac or The Weeknd?” I tried to shake it off but there was just something about what I was doing and the song that made me curious.

“Definitely Isaac,” Stiles stepped closer, and I could see the curiosity in his eyes. He pointed to the wrist of the first victim on the wall. “I don’t remember that.”

I turned towards the photo, victim number two’s still in hand, and narrowed in on the small black band across his wrist. The door opened and slowly Noah stuck his head in, glanced at the mess of the walls, and tapped Scott on the shoulder, drawing the young man from the room. Stiles ignored it, everything focused on the wall, as he scanned it over.

“Yeah, well, looks like he’s not the only one.” I held up the photo and pinned it to the wall. Our only woman vic had one on her wrist as well.

“Well, one’s an incident,” he stated softly, “two’s a coincidence,” he tapped on it as well, like he was committing it to memory, but that was when I looked down, the piles of photos from victim number three was set before me and right here on top, was something more than just a coincidence.

“Three’s a pattern,” I finished for him, and the words drew him from where he stood, moving to my side as we both looked down at the black band on the man’s wrist. 

“Okay,” Stiles slipped his hand up on my shoulder, patted it gently before his fingers gave me a little squeeze, something that the others might find supportive, but I knew it for what it was.

Stiles needed to be grounded, something solid to keep his feet on the floor as his mind raced, and suddenly he slipped away. I watched as he went through the bags on the table. Tossed ones he didn’t need out of the way, the clothing that each vic wore, Megan’s personal effects that hadn’t been returned to her and he stopped, drew a small bag from the mess and held it up.

“Yeah, I think we got something.” I shrugged and slowly moved to crowd him. The band was made of black leather, wrapped in and around three wooden beads, but that was when I noticed it. “Here, let me see.”

The writing on the bag said “James Marlow” which meant this belonged to our third man, not at all a coincidence. The problem was what the bead had etched into it. The sigil from the tree. I reached back, pressing the bag to Stiles chest as I started to rummage through the rest of the contents, until I pulled out another bag, marked “unknown male” and studied it. 

“Same thing?” Stiles whispered in my ear and I jumped, not knowing he was that close. There was a strange vibration in the air as I handed him the second bag. “What is that?”

“Magic,” I said softly as I started moving the bags around again. Whoever set up this table did a shit job organizing. Everything was thrown together, there wasn’t a single box in sight where the bags should have been placed, instead it was just everywhere. I felt it the moment I put my hand on it and yanked it out of the pile, holding it up to the light. “Definitely a pattern.”

“Okay, what do three bracelets and that symbol have in common?” He cleared a spot on the table, took the bag from my hand and laid them out in a line, but that was all I had, I hadn’t thought that far, until I glanced over at the clothing. 

“A whole lot of trouble,” I managed to whisper under my breath before I noticed the trend.

Megan’s shirt was covered in paint specs, just like James’ band name was printed on his shirt, facing out of the evidence bag right at me like a sign. I turned, made my way toward the pictures and stared down at one of our unknown’s hands. 

“Can you find his shirt?” I questioned over my shoulder, not even bothering to look but I could hear Stiles on the move before he stepped up beside me, bag in hand. I looked up, caught in those amber eyes and glanced at the door. “How pissed is your dad going to get if I open it?”

“He said not to,” Stiles looked a little on the confused side, but then bit down on his lip, grabbed the bag from me and slipped his knife along the edge, slicing it open in a neat line. “Oops.”

I snorted, actually snorted when he handed the open bag to me, his brows up in a  _ you didn’t see a thing _ gesture as a wide smile played on his lips. I slipped a pair of gloves from my pocket, because who doesn’t come prepared with gloves in this line of work, and pulled the shirt from the bag. 

It was covered in dirt, pine needles, and brittle leaves from the spot where they found him but that wasn’t what I was looking at. It was the splatter and smudges his hands had made that was what interested me. Glancing from the table to the picture and back, I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and took a picture before folding it back up and gently sliding it back in the bag. 

“So?” Stiles shrugged, “what do we got?”

“A whole bunch of bullshit.” I replied, moved over and quickly organized the bags, sorting them like the pictures giving me a view of the victims. “They released Megan to recoup at home, but they kept her things. She was a painter.”

“Yeah, and Marlow was a musician,” Stiles shrugged, “so?”

“They worked the fair,” I drew out my phone, sent a text off to Gwen and stuffed it back in my pocket, ignoring the reply, if one actually came. It was then that the door opened and Scott walked back in. His nose wrinkled the moment he hit the room, like something powerful had caught his attention. That was what I was waiting for. “What do you smell?”

“I’m not sure, something strong,” Scott raised his nose, drawing it in as he closed the door. “Chemical based, but sweet almost like birthday cake? Banana cream pie?” He questioned that one, two ends of the spectrum, but I think I got it. “Whichever one this is from, they were around it a lot, like it was their living.”

“Paint doesn’t have that strong of a smell,” Stiles fessed up, itching at his jaw as he looked over my organizational skills, but the three bracelets were the only thing left out of the sorting.

“No, something else does,” I agreed and glanced up at the alpha. “How long has the festival been going on?” 

“On and off for the last three…” He looked up at me, stopped dead in his thoughts, those brown eyes narrowed as he shook his head. “It’s a founder’s day celebration, there’s been all sorts of things for the last three weeks, but mainly, because school’s out, there've been vendors set up at the Lacrosse field, the parking lot...” 

“Makes sense,” Stiles piped up. “Painter, musician, whoever the hell this other guy is. They’re outsiders, drawn in by the fair, no one’s going to miss them until it’s time to break it down and go home.”

“If they don’t head off to another fair,” I added, shaking my head. “Stiles, show me the scenes.”

“Right,” he moved out of the room, as if he needed to speak to his dad, but I watched the way Scott headed towards the board and he stopped in front of the first man. 

“What causes something like that?” He asked softly, but all I could do was shrug.

“We don’t have any idea yet,” I moved along the table, took one of the small bags in hand, the one with the bracelet and held it up, taking in the symbol before I folded it and tucked it into the inside pocket of the light canvas jacket I was wearing. Hey, it might be Cali, but a girl has her habits. “Come on, time to venture out onto the preserve.”

~~~~~

Sitting in the front passenger’s seat of Stiles' cruiser was not something I thought I would ever be doing, grinning back at Scott who was trapped behind a metal cage wall was definitely the highlight of my day. There was only one downfall to this whole doing things  _ legally _ .

“You know, it’s totally weird to not have to use a fake ID,” I huffed. “I kinda miss my badge.”

“You have a badge?” The deputy narrowed his eyes at me. “What kind of badge?”

“Homeland security, FBI,” I rolled my hand as if to express that the list goes on before he scoffed. “My favorite is Fish and Wildlife. Man, you have no idea how often I get to use that.”

“So, are they legal?” Scott scooted forward in the seat.

“As legal as they can get,” I offered, shrugging. “We have some master artists in our community, you would never know we weren’t who we said we were. The only problem is keeping up with the way they change codes.”

“Who?” I loved that Stiles was so curious.

“The FBI changes their badge identification sequences pretty often, so what badge was good last year, wouldn’t be valid this year. Homeland has its own holographic thing that happens with theirs, so getting your hands on a couple that actually passes inspection, that can be hard.”

“You sure you should be telling me this? I kinda have this whole oath thing,” Stiles grinned as I shook my head.

“I don’t think you’d be helping me right now if your  _ oath _ was such a big deal. Besides, you’re dad’s the sheriff, I think we can bend the rules a bit.” He scoffed at me then smirked as he concentrated on the bumpy road we turned onto. “Where are we going?”

“Well, victim number one, our unknown, he was found the closest to the road, and the only one we can use my car to get to,” Stiles put the car in park, slipped out and opened the back door for Scott. I swung the door open, stood and drew the gun from the back of my jeans. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, where the hell did that come from?”

I smirked at him, glanced down at the new sapphire blue, Kimber 1911, and ejected the clip. “The back of my pants.”

“You keep a forty-five tucked in the back of your jeans?” I could see the placement of his hand through the window, a gut reaction to a weapon being drawn and I nodded my head in his direction.

“Not all of us can have those fancy utility belts, Batman.” I grinned, clicked the mag back in and tucked it away. “Besides, it was a birthday present from Sam and I haven’t even fired it off on duty yet, so I figured now was a good time to break it in.”

“Okay, one,” he and Scott met me at the front of the car as he pointed at me. “There will be no firing of weapons of any kind.”

“Well, you take the fun right out of it,” I smirked, and crossed my arms, “what’s two?”

“You stay behind us,” he gave me a raised brow, like this was an order, “if your  _ Sam _ is going to give you a two-thousand dollar gun for your birthday, I don’t want to be on the other end of his anger if you get hurt.”

Okay, that was kind of funny. “Oh, it’s not Sam you have to worry about,” I winked, “that would be his brother, Dean.”

Scott rolled his eyes, moving ahead, knowing all about the Winchesters from our small conversations. 

“Great, so you have more than one boyfriend?” He bit his lip and nodded, like this had tossed some sort of wrench in his master plan. “I see.”

“Ew, no!” I adamantly shook my head, “Dean is like a brother,” I watched the confusion on his face as we followed Scott, “and Gwen’s other half, we just grew up together.”

“So, how many do you have?” 

Scott growled ahead of us at Stiles’ question and I patted the young deputy on the shoulder, leaned in and whispered loud enough that Scott might pick up on it just because I could tell it aggravated him.

“Not nearly enough.” I winked up at the amber-eyed man and moved on ahead, leaving him trailing for a moment while he went over the information.

Scott's voice was low, a warning as he leaned in towards me. “You shouldn’t tease him.” 

“I’d tease you too, but you said you were involved with someone,” I let the tone of my voice go low and lusty and watched the reaction of the man beside me, not even his wolf, just the man and he sighed. “She’s away, isn’t she?”

“Has been for almost a year,” he shrugged. “Malia is her own person, her own shifter, she’s not one for staying put.”

“Well, we are who we are, and if you accept it, then you’re a God-send.” I dug my hands deep into my pockets and glanced around the area. “I don’t mean to.”

“That’s a lie,” he grinned.

“Okay, so I like the reactions.” I wasn’t above admitting my kinks, “so sue me.”

“What about Peter?” And there was the name we had managed to avoid for the last few hours. 

I clenched my jaw because he had a point. “What about him?”

“You don’t have to be a wolf to see it, Jai,” Scott shook his head, all the humor left his expression and he glanced down at me. “He’s still trying to be that good person, helpful, involved, but you can’t lead him on either. He skirts the edge a lot, and rejection from you might tip him over it.”

“There hasn’t been a second this whole thing where I’ve done anything out of the norm that would lead on Peter Hale, Scott, he’s just…” I spread my hands out in front of me, like I was gesturing to a table full of food. “I don’t know what to do with him, and I don’t think any amount of suggestions is going to change the fact that he sees something and he goes for it.”

“I noticed,” he sighed, “and he sees  _ you _ , that’s the problem.”

“Listen,” I stopped suddenly and turned towards him, looking up into his brown eyes, “I can only tell you that I’ll be careful with Peter, but I can’t promise anything that isn’t in my control. I’ll push him away as much as I can without being obvious, but you have to get that whatever he’s attracted to, it’s not something I did.”

“Just,” Scott huffed out his nose, like he was trying to figure out what to say next, “just be careful.”

Stiles caught up, a small grin on his face, and shrugged. “We’re here.”

I looked around, spotted the remnants of the yellow caution tape and moved to stand close to the edge of the scene. He was right, it was close to the road, you could almost see the asphalt from where I stood, but that wasn’t what got my attention. The walking path went right by the area, there was no way anyone  _ could  _ miss the body. 

The ground was trampled with footprints, possibly from the sheer amount of nosy people who caught sight of the tape and just had to come up and check it out, so the sigil was long gone, but that wasn’t what I was looking for. 

According to the photos, the body was propped up against the tree, much like Marlow, but there was nothing in the bark to indicate a sigil. Whatever it was had evolved with each death, or victim in the case of Osbring. 

I crouched down just outside the area and sighed, glanced over at Scott, who stood guard and cleared my throat, catching his attention. “Could you help me for a minute?” 

He sighed, like this was the biggest put out of his day, and moved to crouch beside me. “What’s up?”

“Scan this area,” and the look on his face was pure confusion, “with your other eyes.” He sighed out, and glared at me, “just to see if you can find something, anything, a little out of place.”

“Okay,” he huffed, and I watched in fascination as his eyes began to glow a bright red, not something you see in my line of work unless they’re about to tear you apart.

And then it slipped, “wow, they’re beautiful.” The alpha stiffened as the words caught his ear, just as he finished his scan, and he turned towards me, scowling, his expression was just this side of  _ really _ ? And I shrugged. “Yeah, sorry, that kinda got away from me, but hey, I said I’d tease you too.”

“What was I looking for?” He breathed out, not amused at all. What a grouchy wolf!

“Did you see anything?” He rolled his eyes at me before he gave a curt shake of his head, “then you found exactly what I was looking for.” I saw the way he narrowed his gaze at me, gave him a wink and rolled up my sleeves, “back up just a bit.”

He stood and stepped back towards Stiles as I drew my hell blade from the hidden pocket of my coat, something that got a growl from Scott. 

It was Stiles that tried to move closer, but I heard the moment Scott’s arm came out, stopping him. “What are you doing?” 

“Trying to attract the whole damn county... again,” the alpha grumbled, and while I was pretty sure I had come here with  _ Scott McCall _ , I had this overwhelming feeling I was squatting in front of a Hale. 

“Just,” I glanced back at them, “don’t move, okay?”

Pricking my finger - okay, I actually sliced it a bit - I let the blood run down until it collected in my palm before I used my opposite pointer to draw a symbol in the dirt. 

Blood and Earth were potent, even more so when it had to do with revealing magic. The language I whispered in wasn’t going to be anything they understood, but it also wasn’t going to be anything they could pronounce, so I wasn’t worried about a repeat of the spell. Slowly, when the casting was complete, I stood, snagged the napkin from my back pocket, and stepped back towards them.

I knew the moment it started working, Scott’s fingers wrapped around my arm, low near my elbow and he gave me a harmless squeeze, but he didn’t let go, in fact, he leaned more towards me, his chest to my shoulder, and groaned. Stiles drew in a breath as a line swept across the ground, red with power, before it moved up, spreading over the earth to create an uneven but squared zone.

“What is that?” He questioned, moving up on my other side as Scott’s forehead fell against the side of my neck, like he was tired.

“It’s almost done,” I whispered, a tender message only for Scott before I glanced at Stiles. “It’s to reveal the supernatural, which is why our alpha feels a little drawn on. If there’s still some sort of signature from the creature, it should glow green, but from the looks, there’s nothing left.” 

“Did you know it was going to do that to Scott?”

The magic died out, slowly fading as Scott lifted his head and shook it off, before he let me go and moved back across the path to lean against a tree, eyes closed, lips parted trying to catch his breath.

“I had my theories,” I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it for them. “Listen,” I turned to them both, “where we come from, being what I am, what he is, isn’t a good thing. My reputation keeps me alive, keeps the other hunters away, scared to confront me. I’m also damn good at my job. I don’t play with the supernatural, I hunt it. Scott was...” I let my eyes roam over him, giving him a small assessment from where I stood and turned my eyes back to Stiles, “I’m sorry, I honestly didn’t know it would drain him that much. I’m usually the only one like me in the area, and my…” I couldn’t even say it, “abilities don’t affect Gwen.”

“So, you didn’t know?” Scott questioned, his eyes opened just enough for me to catch the fading red.

“No,” I looked down, concentrating my thoughts on the now  _ healing _ slice on my finger. One of the perks of being part of what I was, and I turned my hand to show him. “It usually just affects me.”

“So, what was all that for? Nothing?” Stiles spoke up, demanding.

“There’s no signature, nothing left over from the creature, and while I could suggest moving towards a new scene, I have a feeling it will be the same thing. Whatever this thing is, its power fades fast after it leaves.”

“So, we got squat coming out here?” Stiles sighed, looking around. 

“I wouldn’t say that.” I slipped the phone from my pocket, glanced over the fact that there were no texts and looked at the boys. “Only certain things have such a rapidly fading signature. Wolves, for example, last weeks. Vampires, sometimes months. It all depends on what you're searching for. This thing, it’s more energy, so that helps narrow it down.”

“To what?”

“Only like a half-dozen mythical creatures.” I glanced at Scott one more time and headed back towards the cruiser. That was when the cell rang. With a sigh, I looked at the screen, stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes, steeling myself for the voice on the other line before I accepted and brought it up to my ear. “Hey, Uncle B, what’s shaking?”

_ “What’s shaking is that I have two ornery Winchesters up my ass because I can’t tell them where you went and you’re not answering text messages, that’s what’s shaking!”  _ It was always good to hear from him. 

“I haven’t gotten any texts from Sam, or douche for that matter,” I took the phone away from my ear, checked my service and my messages just in case, but there was nothing, and service was fine. “Is he sure he has the right number?”

_ “You trying to get me to say that Sam Winchester has the wrong phone number?” _ Bobby scoffed over the line, really loudly, which had me glancing back at the two men following a bit behind.  _ “Now, why don’t you get me up-to-date on what’s going on with you and this case?” _

“Well, you literally sent us into a wolves’ den, but they’re okay, I guess.” I saw the moment Scott picked up on the conversation and sent him a wink, to which he rolled his eyes. I liked this version of the alpha, there wasn’t anyone to play up to since Stiles and Scott had been friends since well before the beginning. “The alpha is actually pretty cool once you get past the do-gooder part of him, and his pack, the ones we’ve met so far, are… Well, they’re Hales. Besides Argent, we’ve got Stiles.”

_ “What the hell is a Stiles?”  _ The old man choked out as I turned and leaned against the front of the cruiser, looking over the deputy myself.

“He’s human, but smart as a whip, probably could take on Sam and Gwen with the shit he knows, but I think he could teach us a thing or two about these kinds of werewolves.” I stepped away from the car as the scanner went off, making my way over to a small picnic table set under a thick tree. “We’re not in harm’s way if that’s what kind of check-in this is. We’re playing it smart, neither of us are going on alone in uncharted territory.”

_ “So, where is she now?” _ He knew, he always knew, and it sucked. I sighed, rubbed my hand across my forehead and glanced up at the two who were standing with their heads close together. 

“She’s with Peter Hale going over the autopsies of two of the vics. I’m with Scott and Stiles checking on where the evidence leads, like I said, B, not alone.” I was waiting for it, waiting for him to catch on to who I had left Gwen with, but apparently the Hale pack just didn’t register with him, at least not enough to be concerned.

_ “So, you’re both with men you know nothing about?” _

“Oh, my God, Pops, could you stop!” I huffed because I really didn’t need the whole lecture of safety in numbers, especially when I hunted people like them for a living. “Stiles is human, Scott is a big puppy, and Peter,” I paused at that one, “Peter has more self-control than that.” I didn’t want to say that his interest lay elsewhere because that would open a can of worms I wasn’t ready for. “Have some faith that I’m not going to fuck this up for once.”

_ “I never thought that,” _ he whispered,  _ “but lately, with all that’s gone on, I get afraid. Don’t blame an old man for making sure his kids are safe.” _

“I’m not,” I sighed, ran a hand through my hair and took in my surroundings. “You know, maybe you should send Cas, at least for a check in. I mean, as long as he can keep a secret. It would put you all at ease, right? He could pop in, make sure we’re both in one piece and not bitten, or, you know, hostages, and then pop back out and bring you all the good word.”

“ _ Maybe,”  _ the man on the other end of the line went quiet.

“Bobby, what’s wrong? The boys okay? Everyone still alive?” 

_ “Yeah, they’re good, I just expected to hear more from Argent. Hunters like him are not ones to leave outsiders in their territories without supervision.” _

“We’re not unsupervised, trust me, I can’t even go for a run without a wolf popping up here or there, besides, I think he’s following a lead of his own.” I bit my lip, debated on what to tell him and finally sighed. “Listen, this case is weird, like ten times weirder than cryptos and you know how I feel about them.”

_ “Need an ear?” _

“Need an entire meeting room, but an ear would work,” I closed my eyes, happy to have the old man in my corner and gave him everything I had, including the whole deal about the demon door that I unknowingly closed, one that had been protected by the Hales for so long, and waited for his judgement. “So, there’s all that from this end and I’m not even sure what Gwen came up with yet. She’s okay, just elbow deep in mummified remains.”

_ “Sounds like you’re on the right track. Send me that sigil, maybe I can help on this end.” _ I felt the weight drop from my shoulders as I nodded in response, not that he could see me. “ _ And Jai, keep close to your wolves, from what you’re telling me, this thing could separate you faster than you think, and before you know it…” _

“Yeah, I got it,” I cleared my throat, moved from the table and sighed. “Have Cas text, or at least give Gwen a little mental fair warning before he just pops. These guys might be hospitable to us, but I’d hate to see them go for an angel just because he invaded their space.”

_ “Will do.” _ I listened to him sigh, like he could finally relax and slowly I slipped the phone away from my ear. 

Stepping up next to Stiles, I looked over the alpha before me, took in the way he tried to keep his eyes from locking on me, and I smirked because it was cute. 

“So, that's your dad?” Stiles trying to act nonchalant was adorable.

“Adopted, I guess you could say. Mine died when I was eight, hazards of the job.” I tucked my hands into my back pockets and kept my eyes on Scott. “So, I’m starving and someone told me there was a festival in town.”

“I could go for food,” Stiles shrugged, and holy hell, did I just hear Gwen in those words? The two of us focused on Scott. “What do you say, bud? Funnel cake?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, plastering on a fake smile, “sure.” Stiles walked by, patted him on the shoulder and got in the car but Scott didn’t move, he didn’t look at me either, at least not until I stepped into his personal space, giving him nowhere else to go, or to look. “Jai.”

“What’s wrong?” 

He shrugged, danced in his spot, and bit his lip as he finally,  _ finally _ made eye contact. “I just,” he shook his head, “I didn’t know you actually had that much information, that you were paying that close attention.”

“It’s my job to know this stuff, to find it out, to help keep you safe, even if you think you can do it well enough on your own,” I reached out, gave his bicep a squeeze and let my hand run down until I was touching his fingers. “You’re not alone in this, not while we’re here, and not after. So, don’t ever think you can’t reach out and make contact, okay. Gwen and I have no problem lending a hand when we need to, even if you get a little hairy, and could rip my throat out with your teeth on a full moon.”

“Thanks,” he gave me a little smirk, slid his hand away from mine and moved to the back of the car, but while his face showed some sort of relief, I didn’t believe it for a second. 

He knew what we were, understood it more now that he heard my conversation, and while it was a weight off my shoulders to get him to fully grasp it, for some reason, it didn’t make me feel better at all.

I let out a breath, scooted into the car and glanced at the boys. A quick text out to Gwen to meet us at the festival and we were off. Though, I really wasn’t sure what to expect beside crowds and public places, two things I hated more than anything.

With a slow meditating breath, I relaxed into the seat, and watched the scenery pass by.


	7. Gwen/Scott

**Gwen**

It was moving into early evening, the lights on everything were up and running and the small crowd of people seemed to be growing. Not the best scenario for the person we were there to meet. Not that crowds were my favorite either, but at least I could see above them for the most part. 

I think that was it, the reason for her fear, the fact that there was a wall between her and her escape route when there were so many people, but she would brave it anyway. I, on the other hand, just felt the press of the bodies, way too many bodies for it to be comfortable, but book-ended by Hales seemed to ease some of the stress. 

Derek still hadn’t released my hand, and Peter was bringing up my right side as he talked quietly on the phone to whoever happened to be on the other end, just small replies that didn’t give any insight into who he was talking to or the actual topic of the call, but that was fine, he didn’t wander far either. 

We had entered by the gaming side, punctuated by the fact that there was nothing but game booths and the occasional food stand. There were bells and whistles, men and women yelling to catch your attention and I knew now what Jai meant by selective heightened hearing. These two didn’t even flinch as they moved.

Derek pulled me closer, actually hooked my arm around his and leaned down to keep whatever he was going to say between us. “Not exactly your happy place, is it?”

“My happy place,” I snorted, “is the back labs of some of the biggest, most well equipped museums in the world, but this isn’t too bad. I also prefer my own library back home.” I smiled, knowing that he was just just trying to keep conversations. “You should come visit the manor sometime, you’d like it.”

Did I really just say that?

“I’m sure your partners would appreciate that.” He smirked, and it was an actual smile, but  _ partners _ ?

“Wait, what?” I stopped and glanced at him.

“We talked about scents, remember?” He gave me this look, like he was keeping a secret for me. “The fact that there are two of them doesn’t surprise me, not for you anyway, but for Jai…”

“Oh, Gods,” I sighed, not at all interested in how many scents he picked up on her.

“Under the smoky smell, she’s hard to read as far as that, but you’re definitely there,” he started walking again, as if this weren’t the strangest conversation to have with someone. “Not in a love interest way, but like what we call a scent bond, alpha and beta connection. Pack, if you will. You each have it on you, and it’s a way for wolves to tell who you belong to, or with… kind of like family?”

“I understand,” I nodded and watched as we came upon a funnel cake stand, my stomach instantly rumbled and I realized I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Derek smiled, with teeth and everything as he released me slowly, shooting a glance at Peter, who stepped up beside me, before making his way over to the stand. 

“What’s he doing?”

“Derek was an alpha once,” Peter replied, going back to whatever he was doing on his phone, “those instincts to take care of pack members never leave. So, he’s feeding you.”

It was my time to smile when the man came back with a plate of fried goodness, handed it off to me while we made our way to a quiet table just off the main walk. I could get used to this pack stuff. 

~~~~~

We had been there an hour just moving through the crowd, not making our way in any direction, we also hadn’t heard from Jai or the others in that amount of time either. Peter had slipped away, whatever phone call he was on returned several times and he finally got fed up, excused himself, stated that he was still going to be around but he  _ had _ to take this. 

As we milled through the game area again, I started to notice a strange pattern, or more than a pattern, a strange face kept popping up, one that became familiar by the time I decided to mention it. 

A man, dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt with a small symbol on the chest, something everyday and ordinary, would appear at strange times, standing in the middle of crowds looking at me, or along the side of a building, unmoving, but the fact that he wore a festival vest is what got me to really notice him. 

His eyes were sunken, like he was sick, and the dark spots below them just seemed to get darker with each appearance. His skin was pale and sickly, almost ashen, and his cheekbones were pronounced. He looked as if he was once a thick man, healthy but not too overfed with the way his skin looked stretched. He had lost weight and fast.

Derek paused, mid-walk through a small back alley area and turned to me, concern on his face as he licked his lips, catching my attention. His green eyes flashed blue with power and I watched the way he tilted his head, listening.

“What is it that has you so distracted? I don’t hear anything, smell anything, except you, and even then, it’s jumbled like you keep going from one emotion to the next.” 

I dropped his hand and sighed, “I have been.”

“Okay, so tell me.”

“Do you believe in ghosts?” 

He gave a little shake of his head, but his brows went up, “I believe that some people stick around after death for a reason, but I’ve never seen one myself. Why, are you? Seeing a ghost?”

“There’s a man here, one that keeps popping up, that I don’t know, but I think he’s trying to tell me something.” I scanned the area, hoping to see something but was left with just the fact that we were alone. Derek stepped closer, and I saw the moment he seemed indecisive on something because his jaw clenched. 

“How does it make you feel? That man?” his voice was just above a whisper, like he was keeping it all between us and my eyes went to his lips as his nose flared. “I,” he narrowed those green eyes at me, “I can’t read you.”

This was odd, not because I didn’t want the affection he was so clearly about to offer, but because I wasn’t sure he was going to initiate it. Jai was all I had when we traveled, and while she had her moments of reaching out, points of contact just to make certain things were real, they weren’t what Derek was doing. Dean was the same as me, wanting affection, needing the touch, but we both had a hard time reaching out. This one in front of me, a wolf by nature, thrived on touch, pack, tactile confirmation, just like Jai, and I wanted it from him too.

“He makes me,” I closed my eyes, and the moment I did, I felt his hands slip over my waist, fingers tightening as his thumbs caressed my shirt. Yes, touch, and I didn’t hold back the shiver it caused. “Ghosts don’t frighten me, but he has an aura.”

“What’s that?” 

“A vibration,” I explained as I opened my eyes to look into his green ones, full of wonder. “When you’ve been touched by the other side enough, you get a sense of what’s around you. Ghosts have auras, some tell you what happened to that person before they died, a glimpse into how, and others can just be blank, like they still have no clue, so it’s a guessing game. This one,” I reached out myself, placed my hands on his chest, feeling the way he breathed in and the beat of his heart just underneath. “He didn’t die well, in fact, I’m not sure he died at all.”

“So?”

“It feels like he’s trying to get my attention, point me in a direction and I don’t know how to read it. I’m not good with ghosts, that’s a Jai thing.”

“Seems like a lot of things are  _ Jai things _ .” he smiled, slowly easing the tension in me and I drew in a breath as I stepped closer, right into his space, his hands slipped around, drawing me into an embrace. I felt everything, the way his fingers tickled up my spine, one resting on the small of my back, close enough to the handle of the blade that I kept there to be curious but unwilling to ask, the other settled between my shoulders. “Is this alright?”

“Derek,” I could smell his skin, like a cologne that was light and just there enough to catch, like fall woods and freshly turned dirt, sweet but distinct, “I don’t want to lead you on.”

“Trust me, you’re not,” he grinned and that was always beautiful to see as he tilted his head just a bit, the hand between my shoulders slipping around further, and he pressed his nose against my neck, something I wasn’t ready for and shook from. “I know where I stand.”

I drew in a deep breath, wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes. There was a strange feeling of being completely safe with him at that moment, like the whole world had fallen away, and it was just the two of us.

“Do you feel him now?” The muffled words came softly from where his lips rested against the fabric of my shirt and I dipped my head lower, getting lost in the feel of him. 

“I only feel you.” Honesty was the best policy when the man surrounding you was a walking lie detector.

“Good,” and that seemed final.

I don’t know how long we stood there, didn’t really care actually and when he finally did pull away, it wasn’t to go very far, but my eyes opened the moment he stiffened, his muscles going tight as I followed his line of sight. Peter stood against one of the buildings, arms crossed with a curious look on his face, but he was totally at ease, not care in the world. 

A girl, younger than him, maybe more Scott and Stiles’ age, slipped out of the darkness, moved in close and whispered into his ear before she glanced at the two of us and disappeared back to where she had come from. She looked like him, that same studying glare, same dark dirty-blonde hair, but she was different in the fact that she didn’t seem to care, not the way Peter did.

“Come on,” Derek whispered, still on edge, and he slipped his hand around mine again, “it’s time to go.”

We walked in silence, my eyes wandering hoping to see the man again, to get a better look, but there was nothing, not much more than the usual crowded places, that was until Derek stopped in front of a game stand. 

“What are you doing?” Peter huffed, glancing up from his phone. Derek only gave him a grin and raised a brow, before he picked up a baseball.

“Really? Do you honestly think I’m going to let her leave the fair without a prize?” And I could see the moment Peter got it, the way the beta’s chest puffed up and he scanned the crowd looking for something, or someone. 

The object of the game was simple, three balls, three cups, knock them all down, simple really if you understood the whole trajectory/speed of the thing, and Derek certainly did, because he narrowed his eyes at the attendant and thought for a moment.

“If I knock them all down, all four with just three balls, would you let me pick a prize, no matter the size?” He was bargaining with the man and I just stood back and watched. 

After a split second of contemplation, the man behind the counter shrugged and moved out of the way, and that was when Derek did the unthinkable. He knocked down the first without any issue, moved onto the fourth with the same disinterest as the first, but when it came to the middle two, he paused, moved slightly to the right and threw it, striking the second, knocking them into the third with such force that it toppled all six, clearing out all the balls.

“How the hell?” Peter whispered, but I had my eye on the very prize Derek was aiming for. 

A two-foot, black, sitting wolf with blue eyes. He passed it to me, and it was soft, almost like the man himself in wolf form, and I saw the way he trailed the path my fingers took through the stuffed animal’s fur. I knew where his mind was going, and the fact that I was okay with it, more to the point, wanted to do it was… well, it was distracting.

My phone beeped, drawing the attention of both men, and when I finally dug it out and looked, it didn’t surprise me that it was from Jai.

_ Twenty minutes, stage right. _

Great. Really time to go.

**Scott**

She was quiet in the seat beside me, her finger against her lip as she stared out the windshield. I expected it, after that phone call, after what she said to me about being open to coming back out to help should we need it, but the silence from her was a bit unnerving. 

I followed Stiles into the parking lot beside the Lacrosse field and put it in park, but even when I shut off the engine, Jai didn’t move. She just sat still, and that itself was scaring me. I cleared my throat, looked her over, and waited a minute before I did it again.

“You know what I don’t get,” she came out with, moving her finger from her lip as she looked at me, whipping her head around almost too fast, and I had to stop myself from jumping. “Why them? Like why a painter, a musician, and whatever the hell our mystery guy is? I mean I know we speculated that it was because they would follow the fair circuit, but what if that’s not it.” Her blue eyes held something in it, maybe uncertainty, maybe just a little bit of doubt, and she voiced it. “What if I’m wrong?”

“Have you ever been wrong?” Which was just a question but she turned away, back to the window as Stiles fumbled out of the Jeep, locking up his gun, before he smiled and waved to us. 

“Oh, trust me, I’ve been wrong a lot more than I care to admit, but there’s just something this side of maybe that I don’t like.” She grabbed at the handle, swung the door open and got out, leaving me to sit there, wondering what the hell just happened. The woman could give Mr. Fantastic whiplash. “Come on, alpha, let’s go!”

I should really hate when she called me that, but if I were honest, it didn’t suck. I let out a sigh, gathered my wits and followed, closing and locking the SUV as we headed towards the gate, making note of how Stiles had dropped an arm around her shoulder. 

She was small, probably a little more than a half a foot shorter than the entirety of the pack, and Gwen towered over her even more, but to see him that close to her, especially knowing she liked his reactions to her flirting just set me off in a strange way. 

She was an alpha, a human alpha, though I didn’t understand how that was possible, so maybe that was what was getting under my skin, maybe that was what was rubbing me the wrong way. She was on my land, and making a move on my best friend. I needed some time away from her, but I also knew that Gwen and I didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye, especially with my status, and hers. I wasn't even sure what  _ hers  _ was, but I couldn't stay with Jai, it felt too much like a power struggle and I had been there before.

I had never met two more infuriating people. Then again, there was Peter.

“Have you ever played Lacrosse?” was where I picked up their conversation as they walked on ahead. Leave it to Stiles to figure out a topic.

“Is that where they kick the ball into the goal?” Her reply was anything but intelligent and I knew she was playing it down. Give me a break, Lancing, he’s not going to fall for that stupid girl move, but Stiles was grinning.

“Actually, that’s soccer.” Unreal, he fell for it. “No, see in Lacrosse you have, well, what they call crosse… sticks. They’re sticks, right, with nets on the end and you scoop up the ball and kinda of hurl it at the net.”

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” she glanced back at me, winked and suddenly went on a tangent, explaining the entire game to him in what felt like one breath. Stiles stopped dead, dropped his arm from her shoulder and stared. Jai crossed her arms, waiting for Stiles to pick his chin up from the ground, and shrugged. “Did I get it right?”

“Just how smart are you?” He huffed, holding his arms out like she was holding back and he was offended but the only thing I could do was smile.

“There’s a test for that, right?” 

Stiles was as much pack as the rest of us, just not the wolf part, but when he growled at her in frustration, I could almost imagine his eyes glowing a gold color. Jai reached out, patted him on the arm and winked before she turned to me, and slowly that smile that she wore faded. It was odd to see, because she paled as she stared, and that was when I noticed she was looking past me, not at me now. 

She shook, not outwardly visible but I felt her echo waves, and her body was vibrating with them, the chemo signals she was giving off - her emotions - weren’t exactly something easy to pick up on since she covered them so well, but if I had to say she was feeling something it would be  _ fear _ , and I turned to look in the same direction she was. 

There was nothing. 

I didn’t know what to do, but an unstable alpha, even a human one with whatever powers she had shown me in the woods earlier, which was way beyond what she had given away to Stiles, was definitely not something I needed. 

I walked right up to her, slipped my fingers around her arm - hard to believe someone so powerful was so small - and turned her in the direction of all the bells and whistles of the rides. Magic was one thing, we had dealt with magic in one form or another, but Jai’s type wasn’t something I needed unleashed, and I wasn’t even sure I knew what casting was. 

My hold on her relaxed as we moved through the growing crowd. She didn’t pull away from it, which I found odd because she seemed to pull away from everyone. It wasn’t like she had an aversion to touch, but in the whole time I had been with her, she was standoffish about it. Even when the power she created at the scene drained me and I found myself against her, she was stiff and ready for attack, the problem was I hadn’t had time to figure out if I was the one threatening her or if she was preparing to attack anyone who came near me.

The only thing that gave away the fact that she was even remotely concerned was when she whispered, telling me that it was almost done, and weirdly enough, that actually calmed the wolf, helped ease that side of me that threatened to get out. Maybe her magic wasn’t as volatile as I thought, as my overthinking was leading me to believe, but I didn’t have enough information to do something about it.

And she wasn’t moving away.

The conversations between them seemed to range from science to food and rides, but it was Stiles who tended to be leading them unless it was a topic that Jai had something to say about, which was a lot. It seemed to get them both to relax, for the most part, there were still moments when she would come to a halt, which in turn had me stopping, and I could feel the muscles flexing in her arm, just enough to give me warning that something wasn’t right, and then, just like that, she was back into it with him.

Food was a different topic all together, while Stiles could take that one over efficiently enough, Jai was the dominating voice. It wasn’t about what kind of food was the best, it was  _ where _ to find the best food and not at a regular restaurant, she was all for diners. 

“Dumpy, greasy-spoon, roadside diners!” She smiled, and it was real, as she shook off my hand only to grasp two of my fingers, like letting go would be something horrible, losing contact would send her spiraling, but she wasn’t flirting. That was the thing, she was doing it without actually knowing she was doing it. But Stiles knew. His eyes went right to the point of contact and all I could do was shrug, shake my head that I had no clue why she was holding on, and his brow furrowed as he focused on her. “Oh, come on, you can’t tell me that your shitbox made it all the way to Mexico, two… three times without you guys stopping for some sort of food?”

“Well, yeah, it’s like a thirteen-hour drive, of course we stopped,” he looked at her as if he was going to completely ignore the whole jab on his Jeep. “And Roscoe made it just fine, thank you very much.”

“So, you and however many of your pack you could fit into it, had to stop for dinner, so diner food?”

“There was this one cool little place,” he started and suddenly the two were off again, and I was standing in the background observing, but that was when it hit me, about the same time that her fingers tightened on me. There was something there.

I turned, lowered my head, let the red of the heat vision take over and scanned the area. It brought me back to the scene, where she had me looking for anything left behind, a signature, but I didn’t see anything then, and I didn’t pick up on anything now, but there was this feeling…

“Scott,” Stiles laughed, his hand clamping down on my shoulder, and I quickly straightened, smirking as I lost the power. “Hey, Earth to Scottie, you doing okay, bud?”

“Yeah, just people watching,” was the only thing I could come up with, but a glance in Jai’s direction said, one; she didn’t believe me for a second, and two; she felt it too. “Were we still talking about food, cause I’m starving.”

“Oh, my Gods, yes!” She groaned, her head falling back so she was looking up at the stars, “please, feed me, It’s been forever since I had food! I think I might shrivel and die if I don’t get a hot dog!”

“Is that one of your best fair foods?” Stiles grinned, and it was good to see it, because it told me he was clueless about whatever was going on here.

“Are you kidding, you don’t ever get a hot dog anywhere else but a fair, that’s just stupid!” She threaded her fingers through mine, and it wasn’t just to hold them, it was like… I glanced down, ears on the conversation, but my eyes locked on the way her fingers moved, like she was playing a piano, or a guitar, strumming chords, I just couldn’t figure out what kind of… music. She said she sang when she was nervous, thinking, or... “Please, Scott,” she begged, and that got me to lock right on her blue eyes, like those two words should never leave her mouth together, and I suppressed the possessive asshole need to growl. “Food, like now.”

“Okay,” and I tried to shake the smile but it didn’t work. “Um, I think I know where a good place is.” 

I led them through the swarm of people, still holding tight to the smallest of our trio as the conversation behind me went back to traveling and where exactly in the county Jai hadn’t stopped because that was so much easier than listing where she had. It reminded me of why they were here, her and Gwen, and what they did for a living, but she seemed happy about it, happier than she should be when she started telling Stiles about all that was out there, everything she had seen, and what we were totally aware of that happened not all that long ago in Portland.

And this made me stop. 

I turned to her as Stiles caught sight of the stand we were looking for and he moved, patting me on the shoulder to get what he wanted, not only for him but the two of us as well.

“Portland, that was…” I shook my head because I knew what she was talking about.

“Not all that long ago,” was what she replied.

“No, that was you? You and Gwen, and your hunter friends? You stopped that?” I didn’t know how to explain it to her, to get everything out before Stiles came back because it was a pretty well known fact that all but two other people knew anything about it. “Jai, that power, that was intense.”

“I know, I was there.” She smirked, slipped her fingers from mine and I was the one that suddenly felt lost, but she didn’t go far, just moved to sit on a picnic table, - not at, on - with her feet on the bench and her ass on the table but she looked at me as she leaned on her elbows. “It came through here, didn’t it? The wave?”

“Yeah, and it was a shit show. Derek, Argent, and me, we took care of anything that came up. Stiles’ dad had all the bullshit answers if anyone asked but it was like a microburst, and then it was gone.” I moved up, placed my hands on the table on either side of her thighs and leaned in, keeping my eyes on her blue ones. “You could have died, whatever the hell that was, it was powerful.”

“I probably did a time or two,” she shrugged, a small smirk on her face, one that told me I really needed to drop this, but she just blinked. “It worked out, we’re fine, you’re fine and whatever the hell that was, it’s not coming back.”

She placed a hand on my chest, and this time I did let the growl out, more of frustration than possession this time. “That doesn’t…” 

“Food!” Stiles yelled, stepping up behind me with three, foot-long corn dogs in hand as I backed away and he passed them off to each of us, a cup of ketchup and mustard each to dip them in, but while he chowed down on his - Stiles had never met a food he couldn’t inhale in the time it took to breathe - Jai was picking at hers. Stiles stopped, mid-chew to gawk at her. “You are seriously not doing what I think you’re doing?” I tried to hold back the laugh as she peeled the cornbread from the meat, before raising a brow at him. “That’s like the best part of the whole thing! How do you eat a corn dog with the corn removed? That just makes it a dog! Which is terrible to say. Who are you even? You are destroying the world’s best carnival food. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.”

“One; this is not a carnival, it’s a festival, there’s a difference,” she stated as she placed each piece of the bread neatly on a napkin, “two; cornbread should only ever be eaten with chili and barbecue brisket, and since this is not a  _ chili cheese _ corn dog, or pulled pork, there’s no reason for it to be on the dog, plus,” she smirked up at him, all the humor in her next statement was there for the world to see, “my name is Jai, monster hunter, and you, my sarcastic friend, are wrong. This isn’t the best fair food. Those would be candied apples.”

“No, that’s the best fair  _ junk _ food, this is real food, the kind that helps you live. Sustenance.” Stiles argued as I ate, watching as Jai took small bites of the dog, dipping it in the ketchup, completely avoiding the mustard and rolled her eyes.

“Stiles,” she sighed, “eat your food.” 

Surprisingly, the man listened, but with a scowl on his face. Oddly enough, I think Stiles had actually met his match. It was going to be fun to see him and Gwen together when we were finally in one spot. With what I knew about her, there wasn’t a subject that she didn’t know something about. 

The hairs on the back of my neck stood, creating goose bumps down my arm, but it was the way Jai slowly turned her head to look behind me again that had me wondering just what she saw. Her eyes took on this strange emotion, like she was angry, terrified, but vengeful at the same time and I watched the way her breathing slowed, timed, like she was preparing for a fight and slowly, I turned in that direction. 

Nothing again.

At least nothing I could see because whatever it was, she was seeing it in full color. The corn dog lowered, almost laying across her lap as she stared, her eyes growing larger as she breathed in through her nose, but she wasn’t silent, I could almost hear the words that slipped past her lips. 

She was speaking Latin, only loud enough for me to know the language not the words, and even then the reason for me knowing was because I had bugged Lydia into teaching me something of Archaic Latin two summers ago. I scooted closer to her, rescued her jeans by slipping a napkin under the dog and brushed against her, taking her eyes off whatever it was that she was focused on. 

Stiles noticed the difference, the way she went quiet, and I could sense the instant he became concerned, but Jai just cleared her throat and started up a conversation.

“Do you know anything about ghosts?” She whispered, gaze going from me to Stiles and back as she put the dog aside and focused on a spot between us?

“Depending on the reason for death, spirits can stick around and haunt people, until their unfinished business is,” he seemed to be looking for the right word, but all he had was, “finished.”

“Or unless they’re sent to the other side,” she sighed. “Some of what G… Gwen and I do is help move that process along,” she seemed a little off, eyes going back to where she had been looking behind me before she focused again. “We’re the ones that get rid of the things that go bump, and most of them are just ghosts stuck here, but the longer their business goes unfinished, the more violent they get, so you end up with a vengeful spirit, and they can do a lot of things the newbies can’t. The problem is, the more violent the death, the faster that happens.”

“Like the hairs standing up on the back of your neck.” I whispered, taking it all in. 

“Or the feeling that you’re being watched,” Stiles added.

“And while it’s probably a bit unfair to say,” she paused, “unfair isn’t the right word, but, traveling things have more of a chance to be haunted. The rides go from place to place, things get attached to them, the games become cursed, the crowds attract them because of the natural energy the human body creates, like a lightning rod, pulling it into one spot.”

I sat up, on guard and turned to her. I needed the truth. “Okay, so what happened, just now? What did you see?”

“How do you know she saw something?” Stiles’ voice was harsh, like I had just accused her of murder.

“No, Stiles, he’s right, I did see something,” she reached out, let the tips of her fingers glide down his arm, like she was grounding him, or herself, before she looked at me. “James Marlow,” she licked at her lips, something that caught my eye before she drew her lip in to worry it gently, or not so much so when I saw the way it started to swell, and I couldn’t help but reach up, use the tip of my thumb and gently pop it from between her teeth. She ducked her head away, eyes going to the crowd. “When you’ve been touched by the supernatural - death, spirits - you get extra sensitive, and you can feel when they’re around,” she set her eyes on me again, that statement was for me. “Do it long enough, and you can start to see them, even when they don’t want you to.”

“So, Marlow is following us, why?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed, that lip going back between her teeth, and I fought the urge to tug it out again. “But, he’s not the only one here.”

“How many?” That was my only question, how many ghosts were we dealing with?

“Again, I don’t know.” There was something in her eyes when she turned to me again, like the subject just needed to be dropped, so I nodded, agreeing but it was Stiles that suddenly took her hand.

“Come on, you’ll miss the best part of the festival if we stay here talking about the dead.” He was always the best at changing the subjects.

I stayed beside them, but just a few steps behind as Stiles brought her close by holding onto her, not letting her go, and couldn’t shake the humor as their little chat took on a life of its own again while they discussed the number of times rides had been put together and taken over the course of a year, which didn’t deter Stiles at all.

Until we got to the House of Mirrors.

She stopped dead yet again, this time tugging on his hand, and I could feel the anxiety coming off her, in fact, she reeked of it, but that soon faded as she got angry, staring up at him. 

“Scott and I will protect you,” he whispered, and those eyes of hers took on a whole different level of  _ give me a break _ just before she smiled.

“Really?” It was a laugh, an honest one, almost sarcastic but she looked at me and while her face said one thing, her body language said something completely different. “Stiles,” she whispered, and the whiplash was there again when she leaned into him, “are you trying to get me alone?”

“What?” He blushed, actually blushed enough that I could see the red on his ears. I couldn’t hold back the roll of my eyes, “no, no, I…” he danced in his spot. Stiles was anything but a bumbling idiot when it came to women, but right now, he was that dorky, seventeen-year-old virgin again. “I mean, yeah, who wouldn’t but no, I… not my intention, just,” he gestured with his hands towards the house, “thought it would be fun.”

“There’s nothing fun about a place full of reflective material,” she scoffed, crossed her arms and raised up a brow, like she was waiting for his comeback.

“Are you afraid of your own reflection?” There is was, that confidence, back full force as the debate was on again. 

I stepped towards them, grabbed each one by the arm and lead them into the doorway, some spinning thing that made you dizzy and unsure where to step without thinking you were going to fall, and as soon as we stepped out, Stiles did the one thing I knew he was going to do, he got lost.

I grabbed Jai’s arm, pulling her back against me as Stiles disappeared into the darkness just beyond the door, neon lights flashing everywhere and I heard her heart jump and start to race.

“You’re not epileptic are you?” It was something I probably should have asked  _ before _ but it wasn’t something I thought of as they argued. 

“Thanks for checking, but no, I just know what’s in the dark.” I felt her fingers around my hand again, “don’t let go.”

“Hey! Hey, guys, to the left!” Stiles’ voice echoed through the fun house but it didn’t sound like it was coming from the left.

“Can you get a lock on his heartbeat?” She whispered as we moved, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it. I knew he was in there, but there was no way to pin it down. 

“No, something’s reflecting it.” I tugged on her hand, giving her the knowledge that I was still there, not that she seemed afraid, there was no fear in her scent.

“Can you track him a different way?” 

Shit! “No,” and that came out a bit firmer than I wanted it to, “all I sense is you.”

I heard her sigh, like she was more than annoyed, just as we stepped out into a well lit room, and I turned to see the look on her face. It was hard to read, but there was something there, just under the surface that made my wolf bristle. A power. 

“Why?”

“Honestly,” I stepped closer, not that there was enough space between us to say so, but I needed to be closer. “I don’t know, maybe it’s just you, maybe it’s the whole alpha deal and I have a natural need to keep him away from you. You said you liked to tease him.” I heard her heart jump, felt mine rise to meet it. “Stop doing that.”

“You think I’m going to take him, don’t you?” The smile on her lips was anything but friendly and maybe space was good, but I couldn’t move. “I don’t want your beta, Scott, I already told you that.”

“Then why do you keep doing it?” 

“Why haven’t you let me go?” She looked down at the way I held her hand, thumb pressed against the back of it, fingers wrapped gently around and she was right, why was I still holding on and I sighed, unable to back away.

“I think we’ve been over that too.”

She literally growled at me and I felt my eyes go wide. Human alphas should not be a thing. 

“Talk to me about Gwen,” I needed to distract her as we moved.

“I’m not sure she wants you to know more about her.”

“Tell me anyway.” I glanced back, raised a brow and shrugged, “anything.”

“Fine,” I heard her huff behind me but tugged her along anyway. “She hates Bigfoot!” Okay, that was a little strange. “I mean she’s a cryptozoologist and she absolutely hates Bigfoot. How is that even a thing? We’re so close to Willow Creek, but does she want to go up there? NO! Why, because she hates Bigfoot. Now the Sequoia National Forest, we might stop there too but as long as there’s no recent sightings.”

I laughed at her, moved through another neon room and tracked the heat signatures on the floor, finding the strongest pattern of movement before I took that path. “So, why does she hate them?”

“You know what cryptozoology is, right?”

“Yeah, it’s a pseudoscience.”

“That studies things that are hidden, like Bigfoot, but in all the places we’ve been, there has always been a local legend. How do they stay hidden if they’re so many, and come on, there’s one in Arizona! Where the hell is it going to hide in Arizona?” 

It was good to know she could ramble just as much without Stiles to keep her going, but that was when I felt her freeze behind me. We had hit the wall of mirrors, and the scent of anxiety filled the room. She took a step back, tugging on my hand but I couldn’t let her go. She was on the edge of panic, something I wasn’t sure, no, that I was positive wasn’t a good thing at all.

“Hey,” I turned to her, hands on her shoulders, as she breathed through her mouth, trying to catch her breath, “you need me to call Gwen?”

“No,” she gave me just a little shake of her head, “she wouldn’t come in here. Not even for me.”

“Okay, so what do we do?”

“Hey, guys, where are you?” Stiles hollered from the other side, the warped glass moved with his voice. 

“We’re going to get to Stiles, okay, and then we’re never coming back in here.” I could hear her heartbeat slowing, but it still raced too fast for my liking. I didn’t understand how a hunter could have a fear of mirrors, but we all were scared of something, I guess. I moved my hands down to hold hers again, this time, I could see her shaking. “We’re moving now.”

I tried to give off as much of a calming tone as I could, speaking low enough for her to hear, keeping the encouragement going, but I felt the moment she slipped away, almost like she was there one minute and gone the next, and I whirled to look around. There was nothing but my own reflection staring back at me.

“JAI!” Shit, shit, shit! I turned the corner, backtracking, trying to find her signature on the floor, where she might have touched, but it was like she had disappeared. “Jai! Come on, answer me!”

“Scott!” Stiles yelled, “Scott, what’s going on?”

“I lost her,” I stopped dead in my tracks, glanced around at the dozen mirrors that surrounded me and closed my eyes. “Stiles, I lost her!”

“Scott,” it was just a whisper, like she was standing right behind me and I looked up, seeing her reflection in the furthest mirror, but none other.

“Jai?” I moved closer, saw her duck away. “No, don’t move.”

But, she was gone.

I searched until I could hear her breathing, listened to what she was saying, the strange way she was talking, and when I came around the corner, I stopped dead. She wasn’t seeing herself, she was seeing ghosts.

She was surrounded by mirrors, and inside the reflection, along with her own, were two men, one clearly Marlow, the other was someone I didn’t recognize, still locked in the agony of the life being drained from him. She was shaking, hands clenched into fists as she stepped back, watching the rewind of these men.

“Jai, come on,” I whispered, held out my hand because I had a feeling any closer would set her off. 

“Go,” she whispered, her voice low, angry and that was when I finally looked into her face, the one staring back at me, and saw the blackness of her eyes. “Scott, run.”

“No!” I moved forward, screw everything, and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her. “No, I’m not leaving you.”

The moment she shifted towards me, I was thrown back against the wall, glass behind me shattering as she held me there, arm against my chest with tremendous strength, but it was the tip of the blade in her hand, pressed against my neck, that made me pause.

“I said go!” There was something in her voice, something more than angry. Demonic. 

“And I said, I’m not leaving you.” I pushed at her arm, looking down into the murky blackness of her eyes and let my own match the power there. “What are you seeing? Show me!”

“A demon,” she whispered, cautiously, her lips curling up as if she were baring her fangs. “There’s a demon in this place.” I looked up, passed her into those mirrors, and saw the thing looking back. He was young, almost like a kid, a teenager, but the scowl on his face, more like a sinister smile, made me angry at the same time it scared the hell out of me. “I locked its way home, now it's coming for me.” 

Taking my eyes off it, I looked down at her, eyes bright red, “let it come, I’ll protect you.”

“No, you can’t,” she snarled through those clenched teeth, “you need to stay away. It wants me to kill you.”

“Fight it,” I felt the tip press harder against my throat, felt the warm trickle of blood down my neck, and I knew the moment she started to do exactly that, but whatever was in her, whatever she was battling to lock down, it was winning and that arm started to crush my ribs. “Jai, fight it!”

There was a look in her eyes the second it took over, all of the fear was gone, everything that made her who she was faded into the back and the look was pure evil. The knife pressed upward, inward towards my trachea, and I knew I was screwed, but she was an alpha, a human alpha, and I drew in a breath, my mind going a mile a minute as I prayed this worked.

I let myself shift, fangs, ears, hair, and the bright redness of my eyes as everything took on that crimson hue. “Let. Me. Go!” She laughed, but it didn’t sound like her, it was something else, like she was possessed. And that was when I drew the line, and roared at her, just her name.  _ “Lancing!” _

All emotion fell from her face, her unsettling eyes went wide, and she blinked once. Her whole body shuddered, feeling it everywhere she pressed against me. That laugh stopped, the knife dropped away, and she instantly took a step back. She blinked again, that murky darkness turned back to blue and she stared confused, her sight going right to the trail of blood on my neck. 

I closed my eyes when she reached out, the tips of her fingers gliding down over my skin, and the pressure on my chest relaxed. There was the sound of a blade against leather just before her body pressed closer, and she gently touched my cheek.

“Scott, I’m sorry,” and that was all she said before she stepped back, taking everything from me. 

“It’s okay,” was the only thing I could reply, even if I wanted to know what the hell just happened, but I knew now was not the time. Her eyes were on the mirrors, body shaking from what smelled like adrenaline and something else, but it changed.

“Get me out of here,” there was a small plea in her voice as I opened my eyes and looked right at her, the strong scent of anxiety filling the room again. I nodded, took her hand in mine and turned to head out, but that was when I heard the meek sound of her next words, “don’t let go.”

To say her demeanor shifted the moment we stepped out into the open was an understatement, like she didn’t want Stiles to know. She instantly started picking on him, easing the fact that the man was furious at himself for losing us in there, but she just smiled and took his hand, flirting once again. I couldn’t help but watch her closer, wait for that moment that she flipped that strange switch.

She told me she was like me, that her eyes changed, but there was definitely something more, and I understood now the alpha feeling that came from her, the commanding tone of her voice when she wanted to use it. I just didn’t understand everything. Not yet. 

“Hey,” I stepped up beside them, trying to keep my voice light, friendly, and I reached out for her free hand, something she seemed taken aback from, the very thought that I would want to touch her after what happened had thrown her off, but she gave me a half-hearted smile. “So, where to next?”

“Gwen, and the stage in about twenty minutes,” she offered, but there was still something unsure in her answer. “Um,” she drew in a breath, let it out slowly and cleared her throat, “listen, I need to tell you about that demon.”

“I’m here,” I nodded, hoping it gave her some sort of comfort, but it was Stiles that had us both looking up. 

“Wait, what demon?” 

And the two of us looked at each other. So much for  _ never tell Stiles. _


	8. Peter

**Peter**

There was a whirlwind of excitement the moment the group was back together. Derek did the same thing he always did, looked over Stiles, not that I didn’t understand, the human could trip over his own feet and somehow they saw fit to give him a gun, but it was the girls that had my attention. 

The two of them bee-lined for each other, without missing a beat, suddenly drawn to each other’s orbit and Gwen leaned down, funny to see but interesting to watch, as both their lips moved in conversation at a mile a minute, a full discussion in a matter of seconds . 

Jai had picked the stage on purpose, I knew that now, standing back to observe the way Scott looked after them, as if he were suddenly the only protector here. There was a white noise coming from the speakers, high enough to block the use of my heightened hearing and I took a step back into the shadows to watch, leaving the other three to their own devices, which was mostly Stiles rambling on to Derek about something. 

I felt the need to protect her flare up again as the two stepped back into the darkness, and slowly let my eyes glow, picking up their heat signatures. It was strange how it had changed in one day, how spending time with Gwen has made the need to keep them both safe so strong, but it was the human alpha that had my attention as she placed herself in a position that would make her the first one any threat would come up on.

I heard about the “man,” the ghost that she had confided in Derek about, but as I watched, there was no way I was even understanding how they were sharing facts. Whatever they were discussing was heated, more than likely evidence, but they were using their own code. Half sentences, random broken facts as the other finished the first’s thought, but what got me was the way they could communicate with facial expressions, and of course, wild hand gestures. It was all very fascinating, but it didn’t last nearly as long as I hoped. 

I was lost in the way they moved, concentrating on everything about their working relationship, and personal, that I didn’t notice the moment Jai stopped, turned her head and looked right at me. Her lips moved, just barely, but the next movement was Gwen’s eyes following her line of sight, right to me.

I smirked, stepped out of the shadows and leaned on the support beam that held up the tent surrounding the front of the stage. I lifted my chin, not caring if they knew I was there, and crossed my arms, but after a moment of nothing, of waiting for the anger and the reprimand for  _ lurking _ , because I had heard that enough from both of them, Jai just turned back and the conversation continued.

There were times when each girl looked up, making sure I was still in the same spot before going back to whatever lengthy conversation they were having, and I would smile, or wave my fingers at them, letting them know I was still there, still observing, and so were the others.

Stiles had found a random picnic table not far away to sit on, Derek stood beside him, arms crossed and broody, typical of the man. I swear Derek lost his sense of humor along the way, and while it was annoying most days, the honesty that came with it was refreshing. He was another one that was affected by them, which made sense considering he was my nephew. Why these humans, why us Hales? 

It was Scott that had me curious, he stood there staring at the back of Jai’s head like he expected her to turn into the very monster we were hunting, but at the same time, it was possessive, protective, and that had me wondering. 

In the beginning, I was curious why we brought them in. We were more than capable of figuring this out on our own, especially with our track record of strange creatures that wandered into Beacon Hills, but as we moved through the events of today, some of that was answered. They were more equipped to work with something like this than we were. 

But the next question wasn’t so easily answered, what do we know about them? What have we actually found out about these two hunters since they arrived. Scott seemed to have the most information, but Gwen shared a little. They were mysterious, tight-lipped creatures that made my wolf bristle, that caused me to question, and I hated unanswered things, but there was something else. Their designations. How did we have a human alpha, let alone a beta by her side, just as intelligent, if not more book smart? But that led to another question, how was she an omega in her world, and what defined that?

Omegas here were weak, packless, easy to manipulate. They ran away from danger, not towards it. They were lone wolves, but not antisocial. Gwen was definitely not your average Beacon Hills omega. I wondered, for both, what color her eyes would be. Jai’s might have been red, but she wasn’t a wolf, maybe their alphas’ were different, but either way, the thought of seeing her power made me shake. Gwen’s, though, had me wondering if they would be blue or gold, and the need to find out created something of a different spark.

I often wondered over the last forty-eight hours why Argent had brought them in, if he knew nothing of them himself, because he clearly didn’t have a clue as to what they could do. They seemed to be a random pair of hunters that he thought up when he figured out this was way out of his hands, and above his pay grade. I definitely had it in mind to make sure and corner the man as soon as I could shake my nephew. Derek had a way of protecting the ex-hunter, something about a blooming friendship over the years. 

Me, I like the “keep your enemies closer” approach.

Jai turned, nodded in my direction as her eyes caught mine, and she moved away from Gwen, the woman behind her followed after a few steps but they joined the trio at the table. The hunter’s eyes tracked my movement as I made my way around the pillars and equipment before stopping at the other end of the table. Scott, Stiles, and Derek congregated close, and I smirked the second I saw Derek relax, his arms unfolding as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. 

Well, that was new.

They were talking again, always talking, and I wondered when the action started, but as I tuned in as much as I could to the discussion, I found myself looking directly at Gwen, who took a seat on the edge of the table, between Derek and Stiles. I was curious if she realized what she was doing, making sure she herself was protected, former alpha on one side, man with a gun on the other. I wanted to know if she could protect herself, which I doubted because she was a self-proclaimed bookworm, but the level of intelligence she showed at the autopsy was incredible, which gave me the feeling that she was holding back.

I held back the growl as Jai stepped forward, but it seemed to be the moment she looked at me as well, blue eyes scanning over me, lips going tight. This one… this one was a mystery, with her smokey scent that drew on the very core of my nature. I didn’t understand the draw to her but I knew it was something unique. I narrowed my eyes at her, let one side of my lip turn up, a sly grin, but she didn’t respond, something that I hoped for because her attention was what I found myself craving. 

She was looking  _ past _ me, and that was the moment Scott stepped up behind her, hand on her shoulder as all expression leaked from her face. She jumped at his touch, unusual from what I had seen of her, and shook her head when he leaned down to whisper in her ear. He backed away as she shook it off, caught my eyes again and huffed. 

“We’re leaving,” her voice broke the stare between us and she turned her sights back on Gwen. “There’s something we need to do.”

Like a good little beta,  _ omega _ , whatever, Gwen got up from the table and followed as Jai moved into the crowd. Stiles glanced at me, giving me a frown as he quickly took off after them, and Derek huffed, leaving me with Scott as I stepped closer. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, without looking at me, at least until I was close enough, then he rolled his head in my direction, glaring at me with his alpha eyes. He was still a child, but he did that commanding thing very well. He had learned.

“You’re going to have to be more specific.” I grinned, turning to watch the girls walk away.

“With her, what are you doing?” 

“Ah,” and that was the sound of me appreciating something I just couldn’t stop looking at, like a great painting, as I hummed out her name, “Jai Lancing?” I chuckled, but the smile fell, “if I knew,” I turned to look at him, “if I even remotely understood, I still wouldn’t tell you.” 

I stepped away, ready to follow but his next words stopped me. “She’s dangerous.”

Rolling my eyes before I looked at him over my shoulder, giving him just a smirk, “I could have told you that the moment we met.” Scott glared at me in anger. “She closed a thirty-year-old door with her own magic. Of course, she’s dangerous. And her friend is probably just as much so. Please, tell me what this information changes?”

“It changes nothing, we still need them.” He admitted it which was good because he usually pulled some sort of morality card that would have us turning them away. “You’re getting attached, Peter.”

“And you’re getting possessive,” I snapped back because there was nothing else to say, he was right. “The problem is, how possessive and why? Are you doing the same to her beta?”

“She doesn’t like me.”

“She doesn’t like you because you’re an alpha, you threaten her hierarchy, and that doesn’t work well for packs like theirs!” I moved up closer to him, my fingers tightening into fists. “Try, Scott. It’s the only way this is going to work is if you try. You can’t protect Jai, she doesn’t need it, but you can go a long way by protecting her beta.”

“Gwen doesn’t need protecting either, she’s a hunter,” he barked, eyes glowing a faint red. 

“Then you miss the point of who they are. She would die for Gwen, you know that, and Gwen would die for her, but she’s not going to save your ass if you’re putting yourself between her and her alpha.”

“I’m not putting myself anywhere.”

“No, you didn’t see it. The way you followed her, kept an eye on her as the two of them stood there talking. It was the back of Jai’s head you were staring at, but it wasn’t because you wanted to hurt her, no,” I laughed, “it’s because you were waiting for something to come after her, and for a second, you thought it would be Gwen.” I closed the space between us and glared at him. “What would you have done then? If Gwen had made a move? Would you have gone after her beta?”

“I wouldn’t hurt her,” he huffed. He was still for a moment, something not quite his norm, and then he blinked and voiced his fears. “I think Jai’s possessed.”

Oh, well, I could see where he would get that from, but...

“She’s not,” I smiled, shaking my head, annoyed with the man.

“How do you know, you didn’t see her eyes?” 

“No, but I know what possession smells like, and that’s not…” the look he gave me was one that made me stop, evaluate the situation and draw in a breath. “She’s not possessed, she’s different, like us. And Gwen, while mostly human, isn’t a threat either. So like I said, it would go a long way for you to figure out her beta.” I moved again, getting further away than before, but I knew the moment he started after me, and I bit my lip holding anything in until he was matching my stride. “Have they told you anything?”

“Jai found a pattern in the evidence, a bracelet, one that each of them was wearing when they died, but other than that, no.” Scott’s voice was low, full of distrust and I stared ahead at the small group, taking in the way she glanced over her shoulder at us, hand tucked into Stiles’. “What about Gwen?”

“There’s a sigil on the body, like the one Jai spotted at the crime scene, but there was nothing else, not even a hint of what it might be.”

“So, we’re at a dead end, again.” He blew out through his nose, a little huff that might have been a child throwing a fit, or about to, but he stayed quiet for the most part. ”We could have done this on our own.”

“No,” I sighed, and it pained me to admit it, “we couldn’t.” I paused as I took in the way Derek stared at Gwen. “But there’s got to be a way to get what they know out of them. And what they told you,” my eyes fell on Scott’s brown ones, full of uncertainty as he glanced at me, “that wasn’t the half of it.”

~~~~~

“A pack meeting?” I sighed, standing outside the door to the loft, while staring at my nephew. Derek’s eyes were set on the two women behind me, going over information at the table, but I knew I had his attention. “Please, explain to me why we’re having a pack meeting at Melissa’s no less? The McCall residence is great, however, way too small for the amount of people we’re dealing with, and why aren’t you telling them?”

“Because they’re the reason Scott called the meeting,” Derek growled, crossed his arms as he continued to glare, but I knew the moment my own stare had finally gotten on his nerves, because he shot me a look. “No,” he sighed, as if all the fight had gone out of him, “I don’t agree with it either. If it’s about them, they should be involved, but just,” he huffed, “stay with them.”

“Oh, so now I’m a glorified babysitter? For two experienced hunters?” Derek wasn’t amused at my tone, just as I wasn’t particularly fond of the fact that I was being excluded. “They’d be fine on their own. What could they possibly get into?” His face told me that I had just made possibly the most ridiculous comment he had heard all day. “Fine, you’re right.”

“Thank you.” He was so damn smug when he wanted to be. “Seriously, don’t lose them.”

“We’re on the fifth floor of a building, where could they go?” 

His eyes widened, his expression was pure frustration and that made me smile because it was so easy to do. “You just said they were experienced hunters, they could go just about anywhere, and probably know twelve ways to get there before they got to the bottom floor.”

“Touche’,” I drew in a breath, the scents of the women in the room flowed into my nose, making me visibly shake, and causing Derek’s fuzzy brows to furrow. Dark and brooding, that was definitely his thing. “When is this  _ meeting _ happening?”

“Soon,” just then the phone went off in his pocket and he pulled it out to wave the screen at me, “now?” 

“Go,” I shook my head, “I’ll make up some bullshit story.”

He didn’t say anything, per usual, and silently scurried off to play with his friends. I steadied myself for hours of being bombarded with their scents, their very presence, and both looked up when I closed the door. Gwen rolled her eyes and went back to the map on the table, but Jai stood tall, one hand beside her friend and those blue eyes locked on mine.

“Where’d Derek go?” 

I just raised my brows, letting the expression on my face say it all, that I didn’t have a clue, nor did I care, before I shrugged, and headed for the bourbon. This was definitely a double sort of night. “He went to get pizza.”

Jai scoffed, loudly, and went back to whatever they were discussing as I sat down in the recliner and watched. They were amazing, in depth… perfect, but I couldn’t shake the fact that something wasn’t right. They moved too well as a unit to be just hunters, and not knowing why was frustrating. I was overthinking and annoyed.

It went on for two hours before I just couldn’t take it anymore. I moved on from the bourbon, to coffee, because it was going to be a very long night, before I decided their endless conversation about the same facts was something I needed to get away from. 

I didn’t get as far as I thought before I found myself sitting at the top of the stairs, just out of sight if only to hear the way they communicated, like two little children, siblings even, bickering and picking like Laura and Derek used to do. Jai was in the kitchen, probably helping herself to whatever was left in the pot, because she was just as much a coffee addict as I was, and Gwen was sitting in the middle of the couch, the last I looked.

That was the direction I guessed when I heard her voice, almost tearful as it followed a cough. “I’m dying!”

There was the sound of a mug hitting the kitchen counter a little too hard before Jai’s voice responded. “You’re not dying.”

“I am,” came the pout from the living room, “I’m wasting away to a shriveled mess.”

“Yeah, but you’re still not dying.”

“How do you know? You’re in the kitchen, you can’t triage me from the kitchen!”

“I am literally staring at the back of your head, and I know,  _ for a fact _ , that you’re not going to die of starvation.”

“Didn’t Peter say Derek was getting pizza? How long does it take to get a pizza in this freaking town?”

I smiled the moment Jai moved, her soft footsteps were anything but on a concrete floor and she stopped beside the couch. “Apparently, longer than two hours and thirty-seven minutes. Here.”

There was a clank on the table and a disgusted gasp from Gwen. “What the hell is that?”

“Arsenic-laced caviar with a side of aconite pate,” was the sarcastic reply that only got me to roll my eyes. “It's the only thing Peter had in the fridge, now eat your peanut butter and fucking jelly sandwich before I strangle you until you do die.”

I let my head drop, rubbing my fingers over my eyes, because this was going to be a long night if this was how they were. “Oh my God, why me?”

“Ooh!” Gwen’s voice was full of surprise, “you made me a sandwich, you do love me.”

“I’d love it if you were eating it.” The sound of Jai flopping down on the opposite couch was punctuated with a few choice cuss words when she suddenly dropped her mug to the coffee table. “Son of a bitch, that’s hot.”

“Wait, is this grape jelly?”

“Oh god, please just fucking eat it.”

“Do I look like some sort of peasant to you? You know I only eat preserves, canned by the monks in Spencer. Where’s my holy fruit? ”

“Well, we’re not in the Manor, your Highness, and I’m not Jeeves, so eat your damn sandwich.” There was a sudden painful intake of breath and I rolled my eyes. “At some point I’m going to get some of this coffee in my mouth.” 

“That’s what you get for picking on me,” was the food-muffled response from the other woman, and thank God that was the exact moment my phone rang - Derek’s number flashing across the screen - because the fact that they started arguing about talking with their mouths full was a bit too much. 

I stood and moved up to my bedroom, closing the door behind me, knowing that the two of them should be safe for the five minutes that I was on the phone. Derek had little to nothing new to say to me. Scott had spilled the beans on what happened in the fun house, but the fact that he thought she was possessed had given away what I hadn’t already put together, which was where her powers came from, however when I hung up from the call, the blessed silence that filled the room had me curious but also relieved.

The television - one that Derek kept tucked away in an armoire in the living room, hidden from the prying eyes of lazy pack members who used to frequent the loft between classes at the college, where most of them had decided to attend, Scott, Lydia, and Stiles being the exceptions - was the only noise that drifted up from the wide open space below. The calm reprieve from the bickering hunters was a nice change, and I decided to take advantage of it, grabbing the Stephen King novel from the nightstand.

An hour had passed, letting me get caught up in the story behind The Stand, but it was the moment the white noise of the television hit that I noticed the difference. Whatever episode they had been watching had ended, and with Derek’s preferred setting on Netflix to be where he had to  _ actually  _ accept before it moved on, nothing constantly played. Why weren’t they hitting the button? Where was the annoying pitch of Clary’s voice as she chased down her brother-not-brother love interest? 

Where were their heartbeats?

I sat up in bed, dropped the novel from my hands and bolted from the bed. At the top of the stairs, I paused, closed my eyes and let my senses roam. Running down the steps, missing several all together, I stopped at the edge of the table, eyes going over the amount of photographs and evidence that sat there, but then I remember where they stood when Derek left, and I swept it aside.

The map of Beacon Hills took a quarter of the table, and there, lightly drawn out in pencil, was the best route to the spot where they had found the third man, the one in the morgue, and of course, Jai had picked up the coordinates from the police department, probably when Stiles wasn’t looking, because ‘X’ definitely marked the spot. 

They weren’t even in the building, and their scents, even with how strong they were, had started to fade, which meant that they had left shortly after I had stepped upstairs to answer the call. All that bickering, all that noise, had been a ploy to get me annoyed, to leave them alone, and it had worked.

And I was pissed. 

I rushed out of the loft, letting the door slam shut, and probably roll back open, as I rushed down the flights, stopping only at the bottom to get a sense of direction. The front door would automatically lock as soon as it closed, so I wasn’t worried about Derek’s building, but those two were foremost on my mind. 

The spot they were looking for wasn’t more than three miles from the loft, and with their hour jump and the fact that Jai had a tendency to run at God awful times of the day, I’d say their head start on foot was pretty fair, but that wasn’t going to change the fact that I was faster. I knew where they were going and I knew the territory inside and out.

It didn’t take me long to catch up. Since they seemed to be walking at a leisurely pace, I didn’t feel the need to run up, and reprimand just yet. It was dark; neither seemed to need flashlights, something I found odd, but shrugged off as something that had to do with their training. In the quiet of the night, I could hear their conversation.

Jai was picking at a stick in her hand, one that had small leaves still attached, and by the looks of it, she had picked it up off the ground, but Gwen was focused on the map on her phone.

“It should be coming up,” the taller one announced suddenly, echoing through the forest even though she whispered. “You’re quiet, and that’s not a good thing, so spit it out.”

“I kinda feel bad,” and that was odd, especially when Gwen scoffed.

“Well, there’s a new one, why?”

“Peter,” she dropped the stick but that perked my ears up. “He’s either going to give us hell, or get hell for letting us slip out. Take your pick who’s going to be pissed either way.”

“What’s with you and Scott anyway?” 

“I don’t know, he kinda reminds me of Dean.” Who was Dean again? “Runs hot and cold, trusts me one minute, thinks I’m the bad guy the next.”

“Because you told him.” I could almost see her rolling her eyes, “worse yet, you  _ showed _ him. He’s not even someone we know, but you’re throwing your powers around like it’s nothing.”

“They’re werewolves, I thought,” the pause in her words came with the instant stop in her footsteps and the silence that followed before she moved on, “I thought I would be safe, besides, all uses of it were necessary.”

“Until the backlash hits you and you're off using that little blade of yours for tea parties.” 

“Tea parties?” I whispered, not loud enough for them to hear me but now I was curious.

“Well, when you’re trained in hell, sometimes you just gotta enjoy the tea and crumpets,” there was a sarcastic smile in her words and Gwen scoffed.

“That made no sense, none at all,” which got a laugh from the smaller hunter, who stopped yet again. “What is it?”

“I don’t know, there’s something here.” I watched from behind a tree as she turned in a circle, eyes scanning the area, half expecting to see her eyes glow red, but in the darkness, her face was only shadows, illuminated by Gwen’s phone. “But I can’t seem to pinpoint it.”

They move on in silence, for less than a quarter mile before it snuck up on all of us. It hit me first, whatever it was, the force of the blow from my right was like a freight train slamming into a bus, knocking me sideways into a tree.

The pain and sheer force of the hit had me seeing stars, on the edge of unconsciousness for long enough that the creature had made its way to the girls. Gwen was in its path first, and I watched with blurry vision as it did the same to her, bulldozed into her, but she had it by the hair for long enough to get a few good connections to its jaw before it tossed her aside. She skidded across the fallen flora coming to a stop by the underbrush, lying motionless on her side.

Jai was ready when it came for her, her unique blade in her hand, fighting stance and a smug smirk on her face, but from what I could see, as I pushed myself off the ground, was that it seemed to be an even match. I didn’t know what this creature was, but I knew it wasn’t a wolf. I let the power flow through me, changing my eyes, giving me the claws I needed to rip it apart, but as I braced against the bark, finally on my feet, I saw the moment she lost the upper hand.

It held her by the hair, blood and sweat mixing on her face as she stared up at it, and then it grabbed her by the throat. The blade dropped to the ground as her fingers scratched at its hands, trying to break free.

“You closed my way home,” it growled, and it wasn’t human. It was the demon, locked in the body of a teenage boy, one that still towered over her. 

“You shouldn’t have left it open,” she snarked back, and I shook my head. Why didn’t she know when to shut her mouth? “You’re not going to win, and you sure the hell aren’t going home.”

“You hunters are so cocky,” it sneered. I moved quietly, quickly towards her, but it turned, eyes glaring at me. “Wolves are even more so, especially Hales.” 

I was suddenly tossed back ten feet. It had thrown me with just a glare nearly back to where I started and when I shook the haze away, my eyes opened wide to what was going on. The demon was beating her, no matter how much she blocked, it had the upper hand. Jabs were thrown at her sides, her face, to her stomach before it stopped and placed its hand above her heart, holding her to a tree now, and it was pulling the magic from her, siphoning it in a strange blue glow. Jai’s eyes were wide, black, pained.

“NO!” I screamed it, growled it, and I moved, but Gwen was faster, closer. 

She yanked it away from Jai, spun it around, and moved with lightning-quick, precise kicks and swings that I could barely keep up with. This  _ omega _ , this little bookworm that came off as powerless, helpless, a ruse to hide her talents, was handing a demon its ass.

I scurried to Jai, who was now barely conscious against the hard bark of a tree, and placed my hands on her face, turning it to see the barely-there color of her blue eyes. 

“Blade,” she whispered, glancing over to where she had dropped it. “She needs the blade.”

“Right.” Why the hell did she need a blade? But I moved nonetheless, circling around the battling woman, who was damned if she wasn’t going to keep the upper hand. She was fearless, ferocious, and taking on this thing like her life depended on it. I scooped the blade up by its handle, felt the burn the moment I wrapped my fingers around it, but didn’t let go. Instead, I looked up, saw the moment the demon’s fist connected with her ribs and Gwen went down to crouch, but her eyes were on me. “Catch.”

I tossed the blade, watched it sail through the air and with practiced precision, she caught it in her grasp, handle resting in her palm, between lightly curled fingers and I saw the way her lips turned up. Standing, she squared off again, this time there wasn’t any holding back. It came after her no holds barred and she was ready.

She moved, ducked, weaved and you would have sworn she was a wolf with the way she fought, but I was on the move, back to Jai who was now completely unconscious. The chemo signals that hummed though her body told me she was weak, definitely in pain, but more than that, she was still fighting . Her heartbeat was erratic but strong, and with her in my arms, wrapped up and pressed against me, my eyes turned to Gwen, pulling the pain from the one I was holding. I needed to get up and help, but I couldn’t leave Jai.

Suddenly the tables turned. Gwen wasn’t defending, she wasn’t avoiding the blows, she was giving her own, and wildly accurate, until she stood staring at the glowing eyes of the demon, anger set in her features. 

It was a minuscule movement, the way her hand drew back, the point of the blade tipped up, and in a flash, it was inside the thing that stood before her, buried to the hilt in its heart. My eyes widened as her lips whispered words that I didn’t catch, but there was bright glow  _ inside _ the demon, like a fire was set in its blood before she quickly withdrew and it stumbled. 

Her glare suddenly locked on mine. “Cover your eyes!”

Who was I to argue? I draped my body over Jai’s, protecting her and myself as the bright light flashed for only a second before I looked up, glanced around, and saw only Gwen standing there, blade at her side, breathing heavily. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, took a few deep breaths to steady herself, calm the racing beat I could hear from where I sat, and suddenly it was eyes wide open and she was moving, kneeling down beside us, her gaze locked on mine.

“Turn off the light show, Peter.” Her normal, couldn’t-give-a shit tone was replaced with a hard barking one, and I found myself staring at her. “I need to check her, and you need to get yourself under control. She’s mine, not yours.” I understood what she meant by that, speaking in pack terms, and I slowly found myself loosening my hold on the woman between us. Gwen shifted, eyes going to her instead, and with several hmmphs and well placed sighs, she finally backed away. “We have to get her somewhere safe, he took too much.”

“Too much what? What the hell was that?” I wasn’t stupid, I knew exactly what he  _ took _ but my mind was racing, and I found it hard to focus. There was a change in the air, in Jai, and I shook my head.

“Your demon, the one the Hales were trying to keep away,” she huffed, “there was a reason it came to Beacon Hills. It survived on magic, like an energy vampire, it thrived on it.”

“Why didn’t it make it stronger?” I ran my hand down my face, letting it all sink in. I should have known this, I’d been dealing with it since the beginning but I just didn’t understand.

“Because of what she is, what she’s made of, that doesn’t...” she closed her eyes, debating on what she wanted to give away. “She’s part of where it came from, it’s how she can do what she does. Listen, if she wants you to know, she can tell you, but right now, I can’t. We just need to get her back to the loft.”

I nodded, because that was the only thing I could do before I slipped one arm under Jai’s knees, one behind her shoulders after placing her arm around my neck, and I stood, cradling her in my arms, surprised to find a grin on Gwen’s face.

“What?” because the smile was a bit disturbing.

“She’s going to hate you for this,” but there wasn’t actual anger in her voice, only humor. “She detests being carried.”

“What about when Derek had her before?”

“Oh, I heard her bitching for about an hour about it.” Gwen’s smile was contagious, and I let the one that threatened to finally come though. 

“I was wrong about you,” I admitted, and that got her to definitely look at me. “I thought you were helpless, needing her too much, but clearly, I was mistaken.”

“There’s a reason we do things the way we do,” her tone was serious, as if all of the humor had gone. “It keeps us safe, it hides her secret, and we’d appreciate it if you kept on going like you never saw it.”

“And what about Derek?” Because I knew the moment he saw that bruise on her cheek that things would be questioned.

“Let me take care of Derek,” and that was absolute.

We moved in silence back to the loft, neither of us speaking, listening to the pained sounds from the one in my arms. She barely weighed a thing, but maybe that was because I was keeping her so close, unable to let her go even when she protested, which, by the time we got the door open, had been a lot.

She was a little unsteady, but the ferocity in which she glared up at me to put her down was enough for me to set her on her feet, hold her by the arms until she stopped swaying, and watch her as she made her way towards the bedroom.

Gwen sat down heavy on the couch, her head back against the rest and she sighed, twirling the blade in her hand.

“What is that thing?” I pointed at it, the feather-shaped design was anything but normal, and the way it burned when I picked it up was bothering me, healed but still annoyingly there.

“A present,” Gwen held it up, admiring the way the blade curved, “from a very powerful friend.”

“So, why can you touch it and I can’t?” 

“You have to pay a price,” Jai’s voice spoke up from the doorway of the room. I turned as Gwen sat forward, both of us going over the black and blue skin on her neck, arms, and cheek. The demon had missed her eyes, leaving them wide and bright against the growing darkness of the bruises. “It’s a hell blade, not named because of where it sends them, but because of where it came from. There’s a price that it demands before you can touch it without pain.” The light set of clothing clenched in her fist told me what I needed to know, but she set her eyes on Gwen. “I’m taking a shower.” All the woman beside me did was nod, at least until Jai turned her gaze to the blade. “Sheath it, yeah?”

“Yeah,” was the light whisper in return, before Jai moved gently down the hallway.

The door to the loft slid open, banging into the stop before bouncing back and both of us looked up as Derek stood there, anger and worry clouding his features. He looked to me, then to Gwen and yanked it shut. 

“What the hell?” He growled, moving quickly down so that he was standing between us, his gaze locked on Gwen’s before he turned to me. “You were supposed to protect them!”

“Clearly you know as much about our new beta as I do,” I snarked because there was no way I wanted his anger directed at me without repercussions. “We were both wrong, she doesn’t need our protection.”

“Have you seen her face?” His hands clenched as the blue lit up his eyes. 

“As cliche as this sounds, nephew, you really should have seen the other guy.” 

That made him turn to her, eyes wide in wonder and I moved passed them, headed for the kitchen as Derek fell to his knees between her legs, curiosity and concern taking over, and I caught the movement of his fingers coming up to brush her jaw just as I put my back to them. I snagged the ice pack from the freezer, wrapped it in a few layers of paper towels and set it on the rest beside her head before stepping away. 

There was a spot on the iron staircase that gave me a view of every entrance and exit in the building, but there was only one that my gaze was trained on. The bathroom, and the sound of the water cascading over her. It took a while to hear her start moving, but then it was like a flurry of angry shifts.

Fifteen minutes and I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to know that she was alright, that she wasn’t bleeding out internally. Even the walk home, having her so close wasn’t enough to make sure of that, not when she was covered in the scent of the woods.

The door was unlocked and I shoved my way in, pockets empty of anything electronic and I stood there for a moment, just outside the curtain, fists clenched as her scent filled the air, amplified by the warm steam, but it still didn’t confirm or negate anything. I didn’t want to move, for fear of frightening her but I needed to know.

It was like she sensed it, after a long moment, and the curtain was ripped aside, letting her glare up at me, dripping and naked. The smell of her skin so much more now, but it was the black and purpling color of her ribs, her stomach, and her neck that had me growling.

“What are you doing, Peter?” Her words slipped through clenched teeth and the moment I heard her voice was the second my will to hold back dissolved. 

I pushed forward, wrapped one arm around her waist, the other curled into her hair as I moved her back against the wall, my nose pressed to her neck, breathing in the smokiness of her body. She pushed against my shoulders at first, unsure of anything, but I felt the instant she relaxed. Her hands gliding over my shoulders, arms wrapping up and around me until she placed a hand in my hair, and held me in that spot. 

Her body trembled, even with the heat of mine and the spray from the shower, just as her forehead fell to the curve of my neck and I felt the silent sobs leave her body. Inside, my heart broke at the way she held back, uncertain if she was allowed to be scared, hurt, unsure of what to do next, but her fingers curled against me and I just hung on. She was bruised, but not broken. She didn’t smell like pain, above that of the normal when things like this happened.

She would be alright, and I would be there to help hold her together.

~~~~~

It was later that night, when the four of us had settled, when we knew that there was nothing else that could be done that I walked up the stairs, book in one hand, rocks glass in the other and stopped to see a confused hunter not far from the top, pillow tucked under her arm.

“What’s going on?” Her eyes came up to me this time, looking a little lost and far away before they became angry and annoyed.

“Your nephew is hogging the bed!” She waved her arm down towards the room. The door was open, Gwen was fast asleep, but I could see from there the large black wolf taking up the other side of the bed. “ _ And _ he kicks in his sleep.”

She had turned away when I had spied my nephew, but huffed at me when I caught her glancing between the rooms. “Where are you going?”

“To sleep in his room.” As if this were completely obvious, but she also raised the pillow for emphasis, it was the childish scoff that got me to smile. “Which one is his?”

Oh, this could be interesting, but I threw it out there anyway. “Why don’t you stay in mine?”

Her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing as she questioned, “why would I do that?”

I wasn’t ready to let her go yet, because this was too much of the Jai before the fight, too snarky, too independent and not enough… “How are you feeling?”

She sighed, let her head fall back just enough to see those hand prints on her neck and finally she glanced at me again. “I feel fine, don’t try to mother hen me, Peter. Now, please, show me Derek’s room, not yours. I just want to go to bed.”

She did look exhausted.

“That one,” I signaled to the room further down, watched as she turned and quickly made her way to the nearly closed door, cautiously looking in before she disappeared.

It wasn’t much later, as I sat with the book open, eyes gliding over the lines, that there was a quiet knock at the door. I glanced up to see Jai in the doorway, and I held back the grin, going for annoyed instead. “Yes?”

She scoffed, fidgeted and sighed. “Who the hell sleeps alone on a California king? I feel like I’m drowning in a black ocean, and who puts  _ black _ cotton sheets on their bed?” The rambling was cute, but I knew what she was asking for without asking for it, and grabbed the other side of the blankets, tugging them down. She climbed up the bed, unaware of how sultry it looked and flopped down on her stomach as I tugged the blankets over her again, pretending to be unaffected by her presence, until she whispered. “Peter?”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes for effect, glancing at her from my book.

“Keep your hands to yourself, I have a knife.” 

The smile on my lips widened because there’s no way she had a knife under that tank top.


	9. Jai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, folks, this one is a bit long... but it has donuts and a special appearance. 
> 
> What do you think so far? We're halfway through our little delve into the Teen Wolf fandom with our Supernatural girls, and a lot goes on in this chapter, mainly Jai being Jai and Gwen being all Gwen-y. 
> 
> Enjoy.

**Jai**

Mornings in the Hale house were proving to be unusual. It was hard to believe this was only our second one but somehow so many things had happened already. 

My body ached from the fight, my throat was tight from the fact that it had been crushed and abused by the hands of a demon, and while my ribs ached, I still felt the itch to get out. What was even more disturbing, was how safe it felt waking up next to Peter. 

The man had heeded my warning, keeping to his side of the bed most of the night, and I say most because it was me who had gravitated towards him, waking up a few times to find myself tucked up against his side, arm over his waist, head on his chest. Ugh, I don’t know why I did this to myself. 

As usual, I was awake as soon as the sun started shining through the windows, and while Peter’s weren’t just the frosted ones like the bedroom downstairs or the large ones that took up the floor to ceiling of the loft’s main room, they weren’t covered by blackout curtains either. 

So, I got up.

I had dropped my bag at the bottom of the stairs when I had left the room to Gwen and Derek, knowing full well nothing was going to happen, but I had been completely honest with Peter. Derek kicked in his sleep, and he was somewhat of a bed hog, and by somewhat, I meant totally. They were still asleep when I snuck by, changing into yet another pair of running clothes, but this time, my blade was by my side, tucked in a hidden pocket, easily accessible because it was raining outside and a sports bra just wasn’t going to do it, so I pulled on a breaker as well. 

I tucked my license in a pocket along with my debit card because there was a donut place along the way and it was donut day as far as I was concerned, plus, I knew Gwen would love a treat, especially if they had Boston Cream. I tucked my hair up in a ponytail, tied my shoes on the way I always liked them and headed for the door, glancing back at a sleepy-eyed and shirtless Derek, who stared at me from the doorway of the room. 

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, because he didn’t need it louder than that to hear me, “I won’t do anything stupid.”

He gave a slight nod of his head, but I could see the way his fingers curled. He wasn’t going to stop me, probably not now that Scott had spilled the beans, and I knew from the look in the wolf’s eyes that he had told the pack  _ everything _ , but he didn’t approve of it either. I glanced up at the railing to the loft’s bedrooms before setting my sights back on Derek, who let out a sigh through parted lips, giving into my silent request that he control the beta upstairs, and answered again with only a nod.

With that, I was out the door, down the flights of stairs and out into the warm drizzle before I could change my own mind. 

The music in my ears was melodic, taking me away from the pain of the injuries, into the beat where I could get lost in the nothingness of a blank mind, and rhythmic breathing. It didn’t take long to eat up the miles, and before I knew it, I was back at the loft, a bag with three small boxes of donuts inside, punching in the code that Derek had given me in a text message somewhere after I bolted out. At least he thought of it, but it hadn’t changed since I watched Argent punch it in when we arrived. The building may have not been haunted, but I was still a nosy hunter.

I took the stairs dramatically slow instead of saving myself the pain by riding the perfectly good elevator, not looking forward to the talk that Derek would ultimately want to have about my past, or what happened the night before, something that was still a blur in my mind, not having cleared up in the slightest even with the run. Gwen wasn’t awake enough to give me details, and last night I wasn’t in a good frame of mine to  _ talk it out _ .

I was drained, magically I guess you could say, felt five years older, above and beyond the uncomfortable feeling of my own skin where it tightened around the bruises. You can imagine the face of the people behind the counter when I asked for the dozen donuts and the look of horror when I told the manager to butt out when she offered to call the cops. I knew the cops and Stilinski had more important things to do than to take a statement about a perp that didn’t exist anymore.

The one thing I knew for certain, Gwen had kicked its ass, that much was clear from me still standing, even if the details were fuzzy. The small talk that Peter had made when my eyes refused to stay closed after climbing in bed with him… and yes, that whole thing was oddly comfortable, and probably very bad… told me that his attitude had changed towards her. He finally saw that she wasn’t weak, not in the way he saw omegas in this verse. I was so calling it a verse because this was way over the top of ours, not even parallel, just some AU that we had been sucked into.

It made me wonder when I thought of it, if maybe our plane did slip through a rip, and would the manor or the outside world as we knew it actually exist when we got back in it to head east. Of course, that was my fog-laden, probably-had-a-concussion brain and the feel of Peter’s warm skin talking. 

As I crested the top of the last flight, moving across the landing to the door, I closed my eyes and took a breath. The run had been good, overall, the time out very much needed, and now I was about to step into something I probably wasn’t prepared for. 

Questions about my past.

Two breaths, in and out, and I pulled the door aside, stepping through to an oddly quiet room. I could see Derek in the kitchen, shirt still off, sleep pants hanging dangerously low on his hips, the dimples of his lower back on full display, with his hands around the mug of coffee while he leaned on the counter. The way the bar was angled, I could see the line of his body, from the flex of his shoulders down to how he had one heel against his opposite shin and just how well toned those were by the way they stretched those cotton pants. The triskele tattoo was noticeable, but from the side only resembled spirals with no discernible pattern. The one strange thing that got me of this whole set up, there was no Gwen in sight.

I closed the door behind me, made my way down the few steps to the floor and then shrugged off the wet breaker I was wearing before toeing off my shoes, leaving them next to the door to dry. Derek slowly stood straight, looking me over with an obvious need to make sure I hadn’t bloomed anymore injuries as I padded my way towards the kitchen, just as the missing woman came out of the room, stretching.

“It’s raining cats and dogs outside!” She exclaimed surprisingly quiet as I set the bag on the counter, slipped around Derek and grabbed a mug, blinking at her like I had no idea. “You ran in the rain?”

“I brought you donuts.” I gestured towards the bag and saw her reach for them as soon as she sat down on the bar stool.

“And you’re still hurt, you could have damaged something,” she scolded as she removed one of the boxes looking for the obvious favorite. 

“But they’re sugar, and it’s early.” I poured the black gold into the mug and brought it to the counter, snatching the sugar container from the man beside me. Derek’s face was comical, having taken to just looking between the two of us.

“Donuts don’t validate you not telling anyone where you went.” She was like the older-younger sister I never wanted, always up my ass and in my business, but I knew she cared so I just shrugged.

“I did,” I replied, taking the creamer to add just a bit to the coffee, “I told him.” Derek’s eyes went wide as he looked at me, then he huffed out a breath that was just this side of irritated. “Okay!” I scoffed, taking in the way he stared me down, before I looked at Gwen, “I gestured to him that I was going out. It’s not like I could tell him exactly where I was going, I don’t know any actual street names.”

“So, you were going to throw him under the bus?” She blinked up at me, finally finding the box that held the Boston Creme. I contemplated this a moment, because my brain was caught between being loyal to the werewolf and yes, actually throwing him under the bus, per my nature of self-preservation. Derek won.

“Not really, but hey, you know, donuts.” I smirked, but instantly saw the lack of amusement in her eyes. “Okay, fine! I went for a run, yes. I bought donuts as a bribe, yes, because I needed to clear my head before I get tag-teamed by the Hale boys for whatever the fuck Scott let out last night. Also, it’s raining, yes, and I spent the night with Peter, another yes. So, two birds, four stones, okay? Satisfied?”

“You spent the night with Peter?” Derek barked, finally getting into the conversation at the same time that Gwen came back with, “either you have piss-poor aim or a concussion because that makes no sense.”

I chose to ignore Derek, as I counted things off my fingers. “Four stones: run, donuts, rain, Peter…” holding four up to wiggle at her before I dropped two and left two standing and counted again, “two birds: you and getting off my back.” My middle finger high in the air and in her direction.

“Are your birds the size of Harpy Eagles?” She ignored the blatant flip off and dabbed at her lips with the edge of a napkin.

I rolled my eyes, “and a big fuck you to you too.” She grinned at me, taking a bite out of the donut. “Tea?”

“Please,” she answered around the donut, and I’m pretty sure Derek had whiplash with the change of tone from argumentative to pleasantly agreeable, and I turned towards the stove to put the pot on.

Derek followed me, eyes boring into the side of my head, before I finally turned and asked; “what?”

“You spent the night with Peter?”

“No,” I hushed him, clicking on the burner as I set the copper kettle down, and slowly turned to meet his eyes, “I spent the night  _ sleeping _ in his bed because you, my darling little puppy, stole my side of the one I was supposed to be in.”

“Don’t call me that,” he gruffed, crossing his arms.

“Dude,” I looked over the way his chest seemed more pronounced as his pecks tightened together under the shift of his arms, and no matter how much I appreciated such a fine display, I huffed, “put a shirt on.”

“I told you you could use my room.” And all I did was stare at him until the high-pitched whistle filled the room. From that point, I turned and prepared a cup, which was just basically a tea bag and water before I deposited it in front of Gwen. “Do you really think that was a good idea after what Scott let out?”

“Do you really think I care what your alpha says?” I bit back. “Derek, whatever trust issues Scott has with me right now is not my concern. I’m here… we’re here to do a job, pack relations when all things are said and done don’t mean a damn thing.”

“He thinks you're possessed.” I rolled my eyes at that one.

“And I told him, specifically, that she wasn’t.” Peter’s voice came from behind me, a sound I stiffened from, trying to calm my racing heart as he reached around me for the kettle. I felt his heat, could smell his skin, and I stepped away. “We talked about this, Derek, about how nothing was how he perceived.”

“It doesn’t matter what we talked about,” he shook his head, eyes on me as I moved to pull out a stool beside Gwen. The donuts were calling my name, and suddenly, the dark-haired beta changed his topic. “How do you go for a run and then eat donuts?”

“Easy, I buy them, and then I eat them.” I smirked, pulling off a piece of a chocolate-frosted with sprinkles before I popped it in my mouth. “It's all about the balance of simple sugars versus complex carbs, and basically comes down to the fact that I can still kick your ass.”

“Drink your coffee,” Gwen elbowed me, trying to keep me from starting something that bruises might finish too soon. I glanced up, watching Derek leave the room, only to return with a tight tee-shirt on. Having my gaze locked on the younger man got a hmmph from Peter and I turned back to my mug, and Gwen’s annoyed stare. “You’re not up to sparring status let alone full-on fight.”

“Hey, it’s fun to try,” I shrugged it away, now taking in the way Peter moved around the room in sweats and a tank again. “So, what did he say about me?”

Derek sighed, side-eyeing his uncle in a Winchestery kind of nonverbal communication before he turned his eyes back to me. “We should talk.”

“I knew that was coming,” I put down the donut and sat straight in the chair, glancing between them. “Fine.”

“You don’t have to,” Gwen whispered at my side. 

“The boys know, you know,” I met her gaze with one that I hoped would say  _ I need this _ and raised a brow. “Maybe it’s time it came out, no one needs to live with a secret like this, and I’m tired of keeping it.”

“You could be painting a target right on your back.” She was cautious and that was refreshing but I was done.

“Friends,” I smiled at her, then glanced at the two men across from us, both who were waiting patiently and also a little confused, before looking back at her, “we talked about having more than just the boys, right, establishing a network without Bobby, just in case?” I watched her nod. “What better friends to have than a pack of werewolves?”

“You don’t have to do this.” Peter rounded the corner, hand pressed between my shoulder blades as his fingers came up to gently touch my neck, avoiding the bruising. 

“And the two of you don’t need to hear only one side of the story and base your opinions on that alone. You should know.” I slipped from him, grabbed the coffee cup and moved out toward the living room. Gwen followed, taking another donut before she did so and sat down on the couch across from me. Derek made his way in, sitting on the edge close to Gwen but positioned to move should it be needed. It was Peter that stood guard, not invading my space, but looming there, leaning against the wall should anyone come through the door. “Oh, fuck, um…” I stood, started pacing the space between the couches and windows. “I never told this out loud before.”

“Jai,” Gwen said softly, “start at the beginning.”

“Our beginning or mine?” I smirked and she just shrugged. Helpful, truly. “Okay, ours.”

“If it’s too much...” Peter stepped away from the wall coming towards me, but I raised a hand, silencing his words before I crossed my arms and moved again.

“It’s not,” I assured him, “it’s more of getting the events in order. Some of it’s still a little fuzzy.”

“Take your time, and I’ll fill in anything you can’t.” Gwen gave me a small smile, she didn’t want to revisit this either, but it needed to be done.

“Fine,” I cleared my throat, stopped moving and put my back against the table, still close enough to speak without yelling, not that their selective heightened hearing wasn’t at full volume. “Um, sometime in 2007, after Gwen and I had been hunting together for years already, my brother…” I closed my eyes, “Dean,” I sighed. “He’s not really my brother, but we grew up together, he did something to save his brother, Sam.”

“Okay, explain that more?” Peter seemed a little off. 

“My,” the words weren’t forming, as I bit my lip, “my family is complicated. My dad died, and I went to live with Bobby, Argent’s contact. He raised me, and Sam and Dean were a constant at his house because their father was also a hunter. Weird circumstances kept me from meeting Sam in person up until about three years ago, but Dean had always been there, and we had a love/hate relationship. He’s my brother, in a way, and Gwen met him the same time I met Sam. Weird how it works. Anyway, like I said, Dean did something to save him, but I couldn’t let that happen, I couldn’t just let him go.”

“What did he do, exactly?” I saw the concern on Peter’s face but my eyes went to Gwen, wondering how the hell to explain this.

“He sold his soul,” she answered for me, “to bring Sam back, Dean sold his soul. They gave him a year, but that wasn’t all that set these wheels in motion.”

“There was a prophecy, and we were part of it.” I admitted, and it was the one aspect that no one knew about. “Dean was destined to do some pretty big shit, but there was also a clause in the contract, there was a catalyst for it to happen. One of us had to follow him down.”

“He went to Hell?” The older one’s brows furrowed as he took in this information, but Derek sat quiet, not saying a thing. “And let me guess, you followed him there?” I nodded, shaking my head, because who would have thought he would grasp it so quickly? “Why?”

“Angels,” I laughed, but all he did was bring his finger up to his lip as he crossed his arms, contemplating. “Okay, not so much the entirety of them but two, the archangel Gabriel, and a seraphim, Castiel. Cas was tasked with getting Dean out, I was there to map out the way to him. Gabriel brought me down there, after some bargaining with a crossroad’s demon named Crowley. The only problem was that I wasn’t just there to find him, I had to be there to learn, as a way to make sure I wasn’t kept, or kicked out.”

“The powers?” Derek whispered, green eyes suddenly coming up to mine. “You learned their powers?”

“No,” Gwen sighed, “she gained them.”

“How?” The green-eyed man was confused, but I nodded as Gwen locked eyes with me.

“By learning how to do what demons do.”

“You tortured souls?” Peter whispered, but there wasn’t judgement there, just concern.

“In order to get to Dean, I had to get in with his captor, Alastair, to learn what he did, and I was,” I sighed, looked down at my socked feet and closed my eyes, “I was good at it. I had the training from hunting, knew how to use a knife, could get what I wanted when I needed to, I just needed to apply it in other ways.”

“So, this time down there, how did it change you?” Peter pushed off the wall again, making his way over, but he stopped at the end of the couch.

“Being there starts to take its toll, it becomes part of you, you become part of it.” I shrugged. “The power you saw the demon take, the same  _ magic _ I used to close the door, that was from my time. I can sense things, evil things, and I can use it to make them go away. It keeps me safe.” I looked at Gwen and smiled. “It keeps her safe, but there’s a price.”

“What kind of price?” Derek moved, slowly inching towards Gwen.

“We call them tea parties,” she spoke up, turning towards him. “They’re not pretty, and they’re never human, always just the demon.”

“Think of it as an urge to give into your nature, like a wolf running, except mine’s more violent. The more power I use, the more it’s amped up, the more violent it becomes.” There wasn’t any other way to describe it. “I was there for nearly four months, or what would have been four months topside, down there time moves differently. I learned, I grew stronger, and I was ripped away from it by Gabriel at the same time Dean was pulled back by Cas. I had paved the way for the rescue, but damned myself in the process.”

“So, are you part demon?” Derek stood, holding Gwen’s hand in his.

I smiled but shook my head. “No, not at all actually, but there’s a darkness in me that will never leave. When I see them, when I come in contact with it, my eyes change, they grow black and I’m not in control. Gabriel locked down as much as he could but it doesn’t always help. He did give me something though.” I pulled out the blade, holding it up by the handle and let them look. “It’s a hell blade.” Peter’s eyes roamed over the feather design. “They said it’s made of an actual angel feather, dipped in an alloy only found in the furthest depths of hell, forged in the fires of the river Styx and anointed with blood from the Princes of Hell.”

“You saw what it can do, Peter,” Gwen whispered, but when the beta got close enough, because Peter had a need to touch things he didn’t understand, I pulled it back. “To touch it comes with a price.”

“You said that last night,” he snipped, turning towards her. “What price?”

“Blood,” I slipped it away and moved towards him. He stared me down the closer I got, hands at his side, curled into fists but he didn’t move when I put my hands against his chest, fingers splayed to take in as much of him as I could. “It needs a willing sacrifice, your blood for its power, a small cut coating the blade and you’ll be able to hold it without it burning.”

His hands came up, fingers relaxed as he wrapped them around my wrist, thumbs caressing the back of my hand, but he didn’t move them, instead he drew in a deep breath, letting me feel the way his chest expanded.

“That explains the smokey smell.” His blue eyes danced with humor, but it never touched his lips. “What did you show Scott that had him in such a tizzy?”

I leaned my head forward against his chest and relaxed, but it was short lived, because something about it made me pull away. Peter let me go, confused about the sudden way I needed space, but he didn’t follow. 

“We were in the hall of mirrors, and I saw things.” I put myself back at the table, leaning on it with both hands pressed against the wood, gripping the edges. “Ghosts.” I shrugged. “I saw the ghosts of the men who died, and in my panic, I showed him the demon.” Peter rolled his eyes, but I could see that Derek knew. This was what Scott had told them, that I was some sort of monster. “He got too close, my eyes changed, and I drew my blade on him. I pressed, he snapped and drew me back with his alpha, but that wasn’t everything. He had put together some sort of theory maybe. He had seen the power at the door, some of the magic at the scene, and on top of that, there’s Stiles.”

“What about Stiles?” Of course that brought out Derek’s protective side. 

“Let’s just say she likes to get a reaction from him.” Gwen gave a brief grin.

“He’s twenty-eight,” Peter huffed, which caused me to laugh.

“I’m aware,” I snickered, finally looking up at him, “but like she said, I like reactions. Scott’s protective if not completely possessive of him, and I have a thing for baiting alphas.”

“You have a death wish,” he growled. What could I say, he was probably right? “What happened after you got back from Hell?”

“Well, Gwen took care of me.” The smile fell from my face as I Iooked over at my friend. “She kept me sane, gave me an out when I needed to have one, traveled with me to make sure I didn’t go off the deep end, even when I threatened her which I did a lot.” I paused in my thoughts, the sudden pain of hurting my closest friend even that long ago came back full-barrel and my chest started to cease. I glanced around, took a breath and clapped my hands together, putting on a brave face. “Okay, campfire stories are done, that’s all you get. Back to our regularly scheduled programs.” The confusion on Peter’s face was front and center, but it was Derek’s that got me, the way he looked away, like he knew that feeling of betrayal and I couldn’t look at that anymore. “Excuse me.”

I turned, and headed for the heavy door that blocked the loft off from the balcony, storming out towards a three-foot concrete wall that separated me from the five-story drop. I placed my arms out, fingers gripping at the stone, letting the grittiness of the texture dig in, grounding me to something. The fear of being so far up seemed to override the anxiety of just having let out my biggest secret and now my heart pounded for something other than control, and my head began to spin.

The door opened and I leaned my head down, closing my eyes as the floor beneath me seemed to move. 

“Jai?” That was Peter’s voice, and it sounded strange, far away and muffled, but I gathered up the courage to let go of the wall and held it out towards him. 

“Don’t,” I groaned, squeezing my eyes tighter as the nausea turned in my stomach. “Just stay back.”

“Are you hurt? What's going on?” He didn’t listen well because all of a sudden, there was a body pressed against my palm.

“I don’t want to throw up on you!” I rested the top of my head to the cold stone. “Oh, Gods, I think I’m gonna hurl.”

“Wait,” Yep, he was definitely a fucking Hale! “Are you afraid of heights?”

“Stop being a smug fucker and get me off of this thing!” 

“Okay,” he whispered, like he was thinking. “Okay.” There was a thoughtful pause before... “take my hand.” Easy enough, it was sticking right out there for him and I felt his fingers wrap gently around mine. “Now, step towards me.”

“Oh, hell no!” 

“Jai,” his voice deepened as he whispered right in my ear, “turn around and walk towards me.” I swore I growled, but I think I might have also whined. Big, bad, human alpha, whatever! However, I did what he asked, and felt his arms wrap around me as I pressed my face into his side. “And now, we walk.”

It took forever to make it the six to eight feet to the door, but as soon as we entered, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something wasn’t right.

The sound of Derek’s warning echoed through the loft; deep, violent, and loud as hell, enough to get me to look up at the way he stood just opposite the couches. He was in a fighting stance, legs wide, arms out with those claws front and center, but it was the bright blue of his eyes that got me, well those and the fangs. I followed his line of sight, to Gwen, whose arms were out, one in front holding Derek off and the other behind her aimed right at…

“Cas?” His name slipped from my lips and the dark-haired, blue-eyed, stoic angel in a trench coat glanced over at me.

“You know him?” Peter questioned, and would this be the absolute worst time to point out that both Derek and Cas were… at the moment, blue-eyed? I really needed to focus. Gwen definitely had a type.

“Angel, remember?” I whispered, tilting my head back just a bit to make sure the man behind me heard me correctly, but it rested against the twitching muscles of his chest. “Castiel.”

“Why are you in the home of two werewolves?” The new arrival questioned, like that was the first thing he needed answered. I huffed, not moving because the threat of puking was still an issue, and Gwen was a sympathetic vomiter, it would be very bad. So, I let Peter keep me steady as the angel walked behind Gwen, looked over my bruises, and gestured to Derek. “Would it be safe to assume he’s yours?”

“Mine?” I laughed, like really, truly laughed, and shook my head. “No, no.” I waved my hand at Gwen, “he’s hers.”

The narrow-eyed expression on the angel’s face was comical as he turned to Gwen and tilted his head just a bit, uncertain of what to do next. “Can you,” he started gently, “make him stop?”

“He’s not a dog, Cas!” Gwen growled, bringing her hands to her hips. “You can’t just tell him to stay and roll over!”

“Excuse me!” Peter interrupted, placed his hands on my shoulders, before walking around me to stand in front of Derek, facing the angel. “Who are you, exactly?”

Derek straightened his posture as the fight fell from his face, replaced by confusion, still at a loss for words, staring at the back of his uncle’s head, but he didn’t say anything, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, I could see it, it was more like he didn’t have a chance.

“No, wait,” Peter raised his hand, “I know who you are. You’re her other half?” I slapped my hand against my forehead, because, seriously? “Or other third?”

“Peter,” I found my way to the edge of the table and made use of it by sitting down, getting off my jello legs. “Stop.”

“I’m just trying to figure out our new friend.” He quipped back, eyes going right to mine in a  _ this is how I am _ expression.

“Yeah, not helping!” 

“Would you mind introductions before Derek pops that damn vein on his forehead, it’s getting larger, you know?” 

I shook my head. “Gwen, do you wanna do the honors?”

Gwen, in her frustration gave me an annoyed look before she turned to Cas. “This is not a heads up, Castiel! This is not how we do things.”

“My apologies,” but he didn’t take his eyes off either wolf, “Bobby said he was sending a message.” The man sighed, and I dug for my phone because, yep, no messages,  _ again _ , there was definitely something shady with the service here. 

“Fine,” she sighed. “Cas, this is Derek.” She gestured in the direction of the still shifted wolf. “This is his house that you just randomly popped into, and yes, they’re werewolves. Be nice!” She turned fully to Derek, hands up in a submissive gesture, before she sighed. “Derek,” she stepped down towards him, something that made the man stand taller, “put away the claws, Cas isn’t going to hurt you.”

“What is he?” His voice was low, gravely, almost apprehensive, but when she touched his shoulder, the shift faded and our scowling Hale was back. 

“He’s an angel, which should be self-explanatory. Think ozone,” and she was so clinical sometimes it was funny. “He came here to check on us,” her eyes rolling towards the angel, “unannounced!” Before going back to him. “Peter’s right, he’s one of the partners we talked about.”

“Oh,” was all she got from the man as Derek pulled his signature move and crossed his arms, raising a brow, no  _ welcome _ in sight. “Okay.”

“It’s not really,” Gwen sighed, and I was having way too much fun with this. She glanced at me when I coughed over the chuckle I let out, looking away in a terrible attempt to seem innocent, before she waved her hand towards Peter. “Cas, this is Derek’s uncle, Peter Hale.”

Peter side-eyed him but that was about the extent of that before he made his way back towards me, like I really need protection. I wanted to say so much, but there were a whole lot of bad ways this could go, especially with the staring contest between them. Derek wasn’t letting up, his was more of a warning, his former alpha side and territorial asshole aspect of himself was out in full force. However Cas was actually observing, that was what the whole unwavering stare was for, he was watching, waiting to see what kind of trouble we were in.

“You came here for a purpose, right?” I finally spoke up, slowly getting down from the table, testing out my legs. Cas never broke the stare, even as he nodded. “Bobby gave you information we needed, so let’s get on with it before I have to referee the strangest cage match I’ve ever seen.”

When I walked by, I patted Gwen on the arm because to hell with having anything to do with this one, and headed for the kitchen. Peter, who was still up by the table, crossed his arms, that look he got when things just got interesting and needed to be analysed was there in plain sight and he wasn’t moving, which was good because I didn’t need to be coddled. It was Gwen that moved next, grabbing Cas by the coat sleeve as she stormed past Derek, only to reach out and take hold of his wrist and tug him along as well. 

I held back the laugh, though the smirk certainly made its way through, - I’m only human after all - as she acted like a mean mother and put both men on opposite couches. And then it dawned on me, at the most inopportune time, that the couches had multiplied overnight, and then I remember having seen the second one tucked in the corner by the door, as if it were placed there to deter people from actually sticking around. She stood though, not taking anyone's side, which was a smart idea and crossed her arms, eyes going right to Cas.

To start this whole thing, she sighed, and it was a full-on,  _ you finally got on my nerves _ , Gwen Bancroft sigh. This might be bad.

“What are you doing here?”

“Bobby sent me with information that Jai requested. He didn’t, however, tell me you were in the company of werewolves.”

“They are a different kind of people, Cas, not like ours.”

“If Sam and Dean…”

“And that’s another reason you’re here. Bobby said you could keep a secret, one that this case relies on, which is the Winchesters are not to know.”

“So long as I deem it safe.”

“Do we look harmed?”

“Yes, now that you mentioned it...”

“That’s not their fault.”

“Why are you protecting them?”

“It was a demon,” Derek spoke up, catching Cas’ attention, his  _ full _ attention. “The Hale pack has been protecting this land since we arrived, centuries ago, and whatever this demon was…”

“Apparently, something that thrived on magic,” Peter interjected.

Derek shot him a look, and a small shake of his head, shutting his uncle up instantly before he looked right at Cas, unafraid. “Thirty years ago, my family, along with Druid coven members found a way to block its way home. Jai closed that door yesterday morning, and the demon returned.”

“You showed them?” Cas looked at me and… shit… I shrugged.

“I told them.” I smiled, because what the hell else was I going to do.

“Moving on,” Gwen snapped, giving me a hard glare. “What she did brought it back, and what her and I did was get rid of it, the Hales had nothing to do with this. We took care of it, we got hurt, Cas, that’s the whole of the story.”

“Where were they if they were supposed to be protecting you?”

“Have I ever needed saving from a demon?” Oh, that was snotty. She raised her hand. “Not the point. Again, we did this to ourselves. Peter helped bring Jai back, and helped with the fight. Derek has been nothing but  _ protective _ since we got here. Not to mention they opened their home to us in order to keep us safe.”

“How did you get past them then?”

She looked at me, gave me a  _ should I? _ face, and I only shrugged,  _ why not _ . “We used diversionary tactics.”

“You annoyed them until they left you alone?” 

Peter’s eyes went wide, now getting that apparently this was a thing.

“No, not them,” I grinned, “just Peter.”

“Jai,” Gwen snapped at me, getting my attention. She really was annoyed. I raised my hands, gave her an  _ okay, I’m out _ and headed right for the coffee pot. This was now all them. “What happened wasn’t important, it has nothing to do with the case. It is what it is, Cas, so let’s just leave it and move on.”

“You used a tactic on me?” Peter mumbled, loud enough for her to hear and Gwen looked up at him.

“Do I really come off that shallow that I would refuse to eat a PB and J because of the kind of jelly?” And I couldn’t hold back on that one, which got a glare from her. “Yes, it was a tactic. We needed you to be out of sight for at least five minutes before we could get out. You didn’t think taking the stairs was because we needed to actually get exercise, did you?”

“You were counting,” Peter rolled his eyes.

“We were timing, and Jai got the combination for the lock from Stiles and Argent the first day we were here,” I smiled as Derek glanced back at me, eyes narrowed, but all I did was wink back. “It’s our job to make sure we know what’s going on. The coordinates came from Stilinski’s office, as you may have well guessed, and we had time to map it out while the two of you talked about the meeting in the doorway. It’s not our first rodeo. Once Peter had taken the phone call upstairs, we turned on a show, let it run, giving us about an hour and a half, should you happen to not scan for our heartbeats, but we figured the fact we were so loud before hand, the silence would give you a false sense of hoping we had just shut up. We calculated the time, and more or less believed we could be out there and back before you noticed.”

“You devious little minx,” that was aimed at me and only because I saw his blue eyes narrow on mine as I turned from the coffee maker, warm mug in hand and smirked at him.

“Tactics aside, and yes they do this quite often,” Cas added, starting to relax at the banter between us, “did you make it to the scene?”

“No,” she huffed, “we got attacked by the demon, and by the end of that, well, you see the condition we were in.” Cas stood and walked over, placing two fingers on her forehead, something she closed her eyes at and Derek drew in a breath as the bruises faded from her. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“If you want to keep your secret, it’s probably best that no one outside this room knows what kind of activities the two of you are involved with.” He was right, which was odd to admit as he walked over and gently touched my arm. The feeling of the pain fading was almost euphoric, and I smiled as he stepped away again, no words between us, but it had Peter beside me, moving my hair to look at my neck. “You should also not mention the incident to the rest of the pack if they weren’t there, it’s better that way.”

“I agree,” Derek spoke up, eyeing Gwen over, “our alpha is having a hard time dealing with Jai as it is.”

“How so?”

“I’m not sure if you understand pack dynamics in our world, but she would be the equivalent of an alpha. Dominant and in control of the rest of the pack, where Gwen would be a beta, her second.”

“That’s plausible,” Cas nodded, “and this alpha has issues?”

“Two people with the same disposition could cause problems.”

“I see. She reacts that way with Dean as well.” He sat back down again and sighed. “She can be rather testy and abrasive.”

“Hey! Standing right here!” I snipped, grabbing a donut from the box as Peter leaned back on the counter behind me, ankles crossed, arms as well, and listened.

“I’m only speaking the truth,” which got me to roll my eyes. “The sigil you sent to Bobby was Celtic in nature, but not entirely of that area. Its purpose is to maximize the connection to the life force of a person. Placed on an object that has its own energy, like a tree or in the dirt, just before placing it on a person, grounds the magic, making it stronger, easier to access. The fact that you then sent the information on the chakras confirmed that whatever you’re dealing with is feeding off those people.”

“That explains the ones in the photos, but what about the woman that survived?”

“An interrupted feeding perhaps, or something not right with the victim herself.” 

Gwen moved at that, going to the table. Derek stood slowly, moving with her to stand at her side, something Cas followed as well, until the only thing I saw was the way each man had connected to her, chest to shoulder. 

“Here it is,” must be the medical report, “Osbring had a skin graft done not more than a year ago, but it was from a matched donor, not her own. I don’t understand the medical necessity to use donor tissue on a perfectly healthy person but that’s the only major surgery that she had been through, otherwise…”

“A chimera,” Peter whispered behind me, catching their attention, but when I looked back, his head was tilted just a bit, like the weird pattern on the counter beside me was the answer to the universe. It was clear to see that he wasn’t in anyway actually seeing it. The recognition only came back when he looked up and focused on the three now staring at him. “She was a genetic chimera, not like Theo, but in a way, the same.”

“Not supernatural,” Derek nodded. “Maybe that’s why it stopped, because it couldn’t pull on someone who wasn’t pure? Does it say their blood type?”

“Only for Marlow and Osbring, there’s nothing at all on our mystery man. Both AB. ” Gwen turned to Cas. “If you looked at it, would you be able to figure out who he was?”

“That’s an uncertainty. You said there wasn’t any DNA match, or fluids. It might be hard to find anything if the soul was drained that far.” He narrowed his eyes at the board. “Have you tested the scene?”

“Yep, no supernatural signatures, nothing to follow.”

“That’s bothersome. There’s only half a dozen things that can fade that fast.” 

“That’s what I said,” I mumbled under my breath, sipping at the coffee, and Peter snickered behind me. 

“According to all your research, the only thing left to do would be to find it and make contact. It’s the only way to know exactly what it is.”

“Wonderful,” the man behind me grumbled, and I couldn’t help the smile since he seemed to have taken over my role in this whole game. “So, we need to search the entirety of the fair for one person. That’s not at all cumbersome.”

“Maybe not the entirety of it,” I stood up straight, glanced at the others and moved towards the room, snatching the jacket from the chair. Derek stepped in the doorway as I turned, evidence bag in hand and shrugged. “Sorry, kind of a klepto when it comes to evidence.” 

“Yeah, and I’m sure Stiles had nothing to do with encouraging it,” he breathed out as he turned and followed me back into the room. I placed the bag on the table and looked up at the others. Gwen knew I had it, I just never told the others. It was something I let slip when we were talking by the stage. “So, what is this?”

“A bracelet,” I deadpanned and he closed his eyes, clearly rolling them behind his lids and breathed out through his nose. “Each victim, even Osbring, was wearing one when they died, or whenever the evidence was collected. They all have the same sigil etched into the back of the beads, just like the bodies and the scenes. I don’t think we need to focus on the whole festival, just the places that sell jewelry.”

“That’s still at least thirty percent of the vendors.” Peter slid up beside me, hand gently on the small of my back, as he reached for the bag and turned it over without opening it. “There’s something familiar about this.”

“Yeah,” I smiled up at him, “dead people.” Peter narrowed those blue eyes on me, but it wasn’t as menacing as he thought he was appearing. “Actually,” I looked back down at him. “Gwen and I said the same thing before, like it might have been something we saw, but didn’t investigate enough to actually make it in the archives, but then she said something that kinda made me think.”

“Gasp!” Gwen placed her hand dramatically at her chest as she stood and looked around. I shook my head,  _ drama queen _ , and went back to Peter. 

“Seriously, your world kinda revolves around the Druids, Celtic magic and all that, right?” He raised a brow as if to say  _ go on _ , and I cleared my throat, eyes locked on Gwen. “Oh, come on, tell me you didn’t make the connection.”

“I didn’t, to be honest.” 

But Cas did, “Rowena.”

“She’s Scottish but you get the point,” I agreed. 

“The book of the damned.” Gwen suddenly whispered, and both Hales were totally confused. “It’s like a black grimoire that witches used to write down spells, and enchantments.”

“It’s also written on human skin, but that’s neither here nor there,” I added without actually looking up, but I heard Peter shudder. “Yeah, pretty gross.”

“You don’t say,” the blue-eyed man snarked.

“Anyway, most of the lore about it came from across the pond, and how much do you want to make a bet there’s something in the text about our new friend?” Derek spoke up, and all eyes were on him. He noticed the stares, eyeing each one of us before he shrugged, “what? I read.”

“Celtic mythology?” Gwen seemed flabbergasted.

“Everything.” Derek turned from the table and made his way towards the right, which got Gwen and Cas to follow as he bolted up the small spiral staircase. I didn’t even notice the small balcony before, but apparently, Derek had books. In fact, Derek had  _ a lot _ of books. 

I turned, cleared a space on the table and hopped up on it as Peter lounged beside me, elbows on the wood, looking down at the papers before him, even as I stared up at the three that now surrounded another table.

“So, Cas is…” he started, quietly.

“Hers.”

“Dean is…”

“Hers.”

“Sam is,” but he turned his gaze on me at this one and I drew in a breath through my nose, “one of yours.”

“Yeah,” I shrugged, because what else could I do, “I guess you could put it that way. “

“Do you love him?” 

That got me to look at him, to want to answer him with an honest yes, but love was such a strong word, and I couldn’t make myself say it. Even licking the dryness from my lips didn’t pry the response from my mouth. 

“When we’ve been hurt enough, love isn’t quite the same,” he cast his eyes down to the table and folded his fingers together. “He’s a lucky man, though.”

“Thanks?” it really did come out like a question and before he could reply, the trio was making their way back to the table, a large book in hand, but I didn’t bother jumping down. “So?”

Gwen held the book up to me.  _ Celtic Magic; Transformative Teachings from the Cauldron of Awen. _ Okay, what the hell was that? 

“And you’ve seen this before?” I pointed at the book, watching her nod. “We have it in the library?” Again with the nod, but I was confused. “When did you start learning Celtic magic?”

“I didn’t,” she shrugged. “I don’t even know how it got there.”

“Okay, so,” I jumped down. “That doesn’t tell us anything. It’s not even a recognized rune.”

“You know runes?” Derek questioned. 

“Among other things,” I huffed, taking the book from Gwen as I flipped it open, turning pages as she went back to her conversation. 

“This gives us a direction, but nothing certain until we can find who it is.” Gwen crossed her arms and that told me that her smart ass brain was going a mile a minute.

Cas sighed and looked down, patting his pockets as he did so before he pulled out his phone. “That’s Dean, seems I’m wanted.”

“Cas, you can’t say anything.” Gwen’s voice was pleading and I tried very hard not to look up as Peter suddenly walked by, headed towards the small bar. Apparently, it was bourbon time. “Please, promise me that you will keep this to yourself as far as they go. You can say we’re okay, you can tell them the hunt is going well, but don’t mention the Hales.”

“I see no reason for getting them  _ in a tizzy _ , you seem perfectly safe.” Oh good, crisis averted. “It would be best to keep her away from demons.”

“I understand,” Derek’s voice was actually calm, and now I was curious, turning to look at them as Cas turned to Gwen, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently, something that made Derek blush…  _ blush _ , before he smiled and looked away. Ugh, PDA could be so gross. “Castiel,” he cleared his throat, getting the angel’s attention, and held out his hand. “Thank you, for not only keeping our secret, but healing them as well. I promise we’ll keep them safe.”

“I would show my appreciation for you as well, but the only thing I can leave you with,” he shook Derek’s hand, “is good luck.”

Peter scoffed, from the recliner. “I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

“You will.” And with as much fanfare as he could, Cas popped out of the room. 

Peter went into a coughing fit, having swallowed the bourbon wrong, and Derek grinned widely before he reached out to Gwen, who was either lost in thought, or contemplating reprimanding the angel, it was hard to tell sometimes. 

“Okay, well that’s done,” I slammed the book closed, “when’s lunch? I’m starving, and I need a shower.”


	10. Scott and Stiles

**Scott and Stiles**

Stiles rolled his eyes as the elevator dinged and the door slowly slid open. Scott huffed his way out before it was wide enough for Stiles to squeeze through and made his way down the hall, the wiry young man close behind. 

“I don’t get you,” Stiles sighed, “one minute you’re her friend, the next you’re treating her like she’s the bad guy. She’s a hunter. Hunters keep secrets.”

“And I told you last night that she’s also something other than just a hunter,” Scott growled. “Come on, Stiles, demons? We haven’t ever had a demon here?”

“Not unless you count Nogitsunes, Onies, the Dread Doctors, a Nazi-lion, and oh, the Wild Hunt,” he shrugged, like it was no big deal. “Yeah, no form of demons  _ at all _ .”

“They’re not the same.”

“They’re exactly the same, something supernatural that we had to battle to survive,” Stiles reached out and grabbed his arm, swinging Scott in his direction, “but you don’t have to go to battle with her, she’s on our side.”

“Yeah, for how long?”

“What do you mean  _ for how long _ ? She’s an ally, both her and Gwen.” Stiles shoved him aside and raised a fist to the door, staring down his best friend. “You just need to suck it up, get past it, and get over yourself. Those girls aren’t the enemy, whatever is literally sucking the life out of people is.”

With that, he punctuated his statement by banging on the door.

It didn’t take long for it to swing wide open, and for them both to stare at the bright blue eyes of Chris Argent, and while the hunter was happy to see them, he scowled at their presence in the doorway.

“Now’s not a good time,” but Stiles had enough of ornery ex-hunters and stubborn true alphas and pushed past.

“It’s never a good time, but we need some insight,” he rounded the corner into Argent’s office and plopped down in the chair. 

Chris looked at Scott, the irritated look on the young man’s face told him that Stiles wasn’t kidding and he opened the door wider, inviting him in. Scott followed the same path as his friend and found the other chair vacant. Sitting slowly, he stared at Stiles’ profile as the deputy, completely dressed for work, bit at the side of his finger, an nervous habit that said Stiles was thinking and Scott was probably in so much trouble.

Argent entered, slipped behind the desk and took a seat, gaze going back and forth between the two of them.

“Okay, insight into what?” 

Scott narrowed his eyes at Stiles, who sat quiet, then sighed and turned to the older man. “Lancing and Bancroft.”

“That didn’t take as long as I thought it was going to,” Argent smiled, shaking his head as he leaned back in the chair. “Singer said they had a tendency to raise a lot of questions. What do you need to know?”

“Well, Scott’s having a bit of a trust issue,” Stiles groaned.

“Aren’t you usually the skeptic?”

“If I didn’t feel like I could lay my life in their hands, yeah, I’d probably be questioning it too, but even with this, they haven’t given me any reason not to trust them.”

“Alright,” he turned his attention to Scott, “what did they do?”

“Gwen’s,” he didn’t know how to put into words what the taller of the two did to get on his nerves, but he was trying hard to think of anything besides not abiding by his alpha status, it didn’t work.

“Jai’s her alpha,” Stiles spoke up, “and it’s irking him a bit.”

“Jai’s an alpha?” That had Argent curious. “How so? She’s human?”

“Not entirely.”

“Okay,” he sat forwards, narrowing his eyes at Scott. “Explain.”

“She can do things,” he shrugged. “Like use magic, and she sees stuff.”

“So does Lydia.”

“Not the point.”

“It is if you’re going to accuse her of something beyond what you thought a hunter could do.”

“She closed the door that a demon left open thirty years ago, one that the Hales were helping keep an eye on. She also sees ghosts, and apparently, demons,” Stiles scoffed which had both of them looking at him. He couldn’t have cared less, his eyes were focused on a small leather-bound journal. “What’s bugging him is that her eyes turned black and she pulled a knife on him.”

“Your eyes change color all the time,” the older one scolded and Scott gave a roll of his own. “I’m still not seeing the issue here.”

“He thinks she’s possessed, even though Peter said she wasn’t and, shoot me now ‘cause I hate to even admit this, I kinda believe him.”

“Wait, you believe Peter?”

Stiles did look up this time, catching his eyes before he raised a brow and nodded. “Listen,” he folded his hands together and sat forward, elbows to his knees, “as much as I think Peter’s a dick, he’s got this  _ thing _ about Jai, he’s protective and possessive and kinda creepy, but he’s still Peter and if there was something wrong, he would be the first to blab about it  _ because _ he’s a dick.”

“You have a point, but that doesn’t tell me why _ you _ ,” he stared directly at Scott, “thinks she’s possessed.”

“Her eyes turned black, like he said, but that wasn’t all. She changed for a minute, like she wasn’t her anymore,” Scott drew in a breath and shook his head. “I know it all sounds bad, and comes off as jealously, or whatever, but you weren’t there, you didn’t see it.”

“Up until this point, did you trust her?”

Without thinking, the alpha answered, “yeah, of course.”

“What happened after this incident? What did she do?”

“She told us about the demon, about what it did to her, what it  _ does _ when she’s near it.” 

“But she told you everything?”

“Yeah, I mean, I guess. I don’t know what to think anymore. She’s an unknown…”

“They’re both unknowns, Scott because we don’t  _ know _ them.” Stiles was cranky and it showed. “Look, I get it, I do, strangers in our woods, in our territory, that’s never been a good thing, but I think they are.”

“Fine, so they’re cool,” Scott shrugged, totally not believing it. “What now? We just keep going with this investigation and ignore the fact that she can do magic?”

“She’s never used it on you, right?”

“No,” Scott grouched out, trying to sound like this was a stupid line of questioning, but his features softened as he looked down. “In fact, she apologized when it did effect me, like it hurt her to have it hurt me. She said…”

“What?” Argent’s voice was low, almost a coaxing whisper.

“She said she was usually the only one in the area when she used  _ it _ and that it didn’t affect Gwen. She didn’t know it was going to do that.” 

“So, what’s your problem?” It was an honest question because Scott was suddenly unsure of everything. Everything except one thing.

“She’s an alpha.” His eyes flashed a bright red as he thought of the feelings he got being close to her, above and beyond the need to protect her because she was human. She set off the whole  _ mine _ thing when it came to everything especially Stiles, and he looked at the man beside him, who was wearing a smirk. “And, I don’t know, maybe that’s just it.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said it, but she’s human, demon stuff aside.”

“It’s just a feeling more than anything,” Scott tried to will it away, to forget he had even mentioned it, but now that it was out there. “Gwen comes off as a beta,  _ her _ beta, and it makes even being in the same room with her very hard, it’s like she’s purposely trying to piss me off.”

“Let’s look at it a different way,” Argent leaned back in the chair and glanced between them. “Stiles, how hard was it for you to work with Derek when all this started happening, before the group of you got together, and way before Scott brought Derek into the fold.”

“He was the biggest ass, and always pissed me off.” Stiles growled, “like he thought he was my…” The amber eyes of the young man blinked before he suddenly turned to Scott. “Like he was my alpha, but you already were.”

“I was still a beta, still learning.” 

“But it was you first,” Stiles shifted in the chair. “I would do anything you told me to, protect you, fight for and with you because you were my family and Derek was,” Stiles narrowed his eyes, cocked his head just a bit and gave a little smirk. “Derek was a stranger, and an alpha, but you were mine.”

“And that’s how pack works,” Argent shrugged, “trust, unity, and family. They are it to each other. They rely on each other for everything, even if they hunt alone, even if Gwen is somewhere else than right beside her. If Jai  _ is _ a human alpha then there’s nothing you can do, you have to accept that.”

“And let her be pissed off at me for the rest of their time here?” Scott scoffed, “I’d rather work around them, even Jai.”

“But you like Jai,” Stiles smirked.

“I like her well enough when she’s not right beside me all the time, not right now.” Scott ran his hands over his face. “I don’t know.”

“Where are they at the moment?”

“With Peter and Derek.” Stiles got up from the chair, grabbed his cell out of his pocket and dialed out, putting it to his ear. Derek answered. “Hey, Der, just checking on the girls.” He smirked and looked over at Scott. “Really, that’s good, he needs to have someone hand him his own sarcastic ass. Mm-hmm, and Gwen?” Stiles paused, narrowed his eyes as he bit his lip, then let it go like he was about to say something and his eyes went to Argent. “You don’t say. Yeah, I’ll ask him. No, no. No, we’re actually with him right now. Yeah, sure. Okay. Later.”

He hung up the phone, stuffed it back in his pocket, face strangely curious, and shook his head.

“What did he say?” Scott could pick up on the change of his heartbeat and started feeling edgy.

“The girls are good. Jai and Peter are in a debate at the moment on some of the evidence that was found by both groups, she’s winning, but it was Gwen that got me.” He sat down, returning to the same position he was, with his elbows on his knees but this time, he was staring at Chris. “Tell us about the victim.”

“Which one?” Argent smiled, he knew it would come to this.

“The one that’s five years old, the information you gave Derek.”

“Wait,” Scott sat forward, “what do you mean which one?” 

“I gave Derek a lead last night before he left to meet you at the festival. We found evidence of a cold case from five years ago up near the border. We weren’t positive at the time, but we’re pretty sure now that it’s the same thing that’s been attacking people in Beacon Hills.” 

“Why?” Argent drew out a folder and put it down in front of him, waiting for Scott to flip it open. He took in the mummified body, and the sight of a sigil drawn on the lower back, but it was Stiles that sat forward and grabbed the photo. With shaking hands, he got up, dug out his phone and took a quick shot of it. “What are you doing?”

“Sending this to Jai,” his voice shook in a panic, before he swapped it out with the one with the sigil. “They know this. They know about this, so if it’s the same thing, maybe they’ll know how to catch it.”

“Stiles, that isn’t all.” Both of the young men looked up as Chris moved to the filing cabinet and took another envelope from up top. He slowly handed it over, waiting for Stiles to put the phone on the desk. “This came in earlier, I’m surprised your dad hasn’t said anything about it to you.”

Stiles quickly opened it, dumped it on the table and looked down at the missing person case of a man who worked the festival circuit. He was dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt with a small symbol on the chest, something everyday and ordinary, but it was the festival vest that got Stiles. He quickly committed it to memory and shook it off.

“He’s missing? It got another one?” Scott questioned, reading over his friend’s shoulder. 

“He’s not missing, he’s deceased. They found him in a cabin on the other side of the county line, so technically he wasn’t in Beacon County. Here.” Argent holds out a phone. “Just press play.”

The video is from a chest cam’s point of view, walking into the cabin as the officer makes a gagging noise. They could hear the sound of flies in the air, old rotten food littered the table and counters, and a hand wave in front of the camera before the man beside him ducked out and followed by the sound of vomiting in the distance. The officer moves on, gun at the ready as he pushes the door open and stops dead. 

_ “Good god!”  _ He lets out a huff, muffled as he covers his nose, but it’s the sight of the body, leaning back in the office chair, face sunken in, and definitely mirroring the rest of the victims. Stiles can see right away the bracelet on his wrist and the festival vest that covered his body. His hands are still on the keyboard, the screen is black, but when the officer bumps the table, it lights up.

“What does that say?” Stiles whispered, because on the screen there’s only two words repeated over and over. 

Scott narrowed his eyes, using his fingers to zoom in before his vision took over and he shook his head. “It says:  _ They’re coming _ .”

“They who?” Stiles pauses the video, turns the phone and quickly sends the video to his own phone, feeling it vibrate in his pocket, knowing he’d have to send this out to Jai and Gwen soon. “You think it knows about the girls?”

“That’s a pretty far fetched assumption. How would it know?”  _ There’s no way _ , was the only thing that’s going through Scott’s mind. NO way it could know about the girls, no way it could know what they are, or that they’re hunters, or even that they're close, and his words slip. “Right?”

“Right, what?” Stiles mumbles back, a little confused, before he looks up Argent. “You need to have them transfer that body to the hospital, let Melissa have it so we can get in and examine it.”

“I can try.” was all Argent gave back.

“We need the evidence too, like his clothes and everything. Computer as well.” Stiles was starting to pace, ideas forming in his head and his first thought was getting back to the loft, sharing everything with them to get this solved, but his eyes landed on Scott. “We’re going to them, right?”

“No,” the alpha looked up, looking him dead in the eye. “No, we’re not, we can’t.”

“What? We have to, they need to know!” 

Scott just shook his head. “No, we need to keep them safe, and not telling them about this is the best way.” 

Stiles put his hands on his hips, keeping it to himself that he had already sent the video as he paced, because now Jai already knew, which meant that Gwen was well aware. He shook his head. What the hell was up with his friend? 

“You know they’re hunters, right? Probably killed more supernatural baddies than the Argents have in four-hundred years, but you’re just going to sit there and treat them like some civilians on the street? What the fuck, Scott?

“I know what they are, okay, and I can’t let them out there, Stiles, I can’t.” Scott set the phone down and glanced up at Argent. “When did they find him?”

“Yesterday morning,” but the look on Argent’s face mirrored Stiles. “Why can’t you let them?”

“Because I can't see them  _ dead _ !” Scott growled, slamming his hand down on the table. “I’m sorry, I just… I have this feeling and I can’t let it go. I don’t trust her, but I can’t let the two of them out there to end up like this guy.”

“You think that will happen?” Stiles crossed his arms.

“I have to protect this pack.”

“They’re not pack, Scott.”

“That’s just it,” he sighed, “they are.”

And with that, Scott left the room. 

Stiles gave his head a quick shake and threw his hands up in the air. “That guy’s going to give me emotional whiplash.”

“I think I get it,” Argent crossed his arms as he listened for the elevator. “There’s a reason he doesn’t think he can trust her, or that Gwen is upsetting him. A pack on his territory is his responsibility, I just don’t understand the last part.”

“He likes her,” Stiles smirked, “and he likes Gwen, he just hates that he does.” Stiles moved towards the door. “I have to go to work, but, what now?”

“You let me worry about getting the girls the information they need, I think I have a little bit more that needs to be clarified with them. For now, take care of him, don’t let him near Jai if he’s that volatile, and Stiles…”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.” 

Stiles nodded, tapped the doorsill twice and walked out, more like jogged out to try and catch the elevator. Argent took a breath, looked down at the two cases in front of him and sighed before he picked up his phone, debating on the number he was about to dial.

~~~~~

Stiles met up with Scott at the side of the Jeep, and he wanted to punch him, he really did, but he held back, fists clenched as Scott stood with his arms resting on the hood, face buried in them.

“You know, you’re an asshole, right?”

“I know, I know.” Scott’s mumbled voice came from the enclosure of his arms. “I just don’t know how to fix this.”

“You let them do their damn jobs!” Scott stood straight, staring at him. “It’s hard, I know, letting people in and thinking you’re going to lose them, because we’re so used to it, and we shouldn’t be, but Scott,  _ they’re hunters _ ! It is literally their job to find this shit and kill it.” He huffed, ran his hands through his hair and yanked the door open. “Get in, I have to go to work.”

Scott said nothing as he climbed in the Jeep, let Stiles rev the engine before he put it in drive and took off as fast as the old V-6 would let him. 


	11. The Loft and the Library

**The Loft**

Gwen looked up for the third time in the last five minutes as a paper airplane clipped her ear. It was nearing five pm and had been several hours since Stiles sent the video she was now analyzing. Peter had given up on his need to argue with Jai and was sitting quietly in his chair reading, while Derek was up in the library loft. It was the other hunter that was driving her nuts.

Gwen turned slowly and looked over at the woman laying on the couch, one leg off, the other knee pulled up against the backrest, but it was the stack of paper to her right that gave her away. That and the fact that she was holding a half folded airplane in her hand. Gwen shifted to face her completely and Jai grinned widely.

“What exactly do you think you're doing?” Gwen's voice held the tone of annoyance, which only made Jai giggle.

“I'm keeping myself entertained.” She turned her eyes towards Peter, who only raised a brow, eyes on the book as if he were trying not to listen in, but the corners of his lips curled up in a smile. She turned back to Gwen and rolled her eyes. “I lost my partner, who was being ever so nice in debating the ins-and-outs of claws versus knives, but he decided he's going to be a jerk and read a book! I mean, who does that?”

“So that means you throw paper airplanes at me?”

“No I tried throwing him at him, but he caught every single one, and I'm still trying to figure out how. I was thinking at first that maybe it had something to do with his selective heightened ability to see things coming, but I'm not going to give him that much credit.”  Peter huffed as he put the book down, this time really looking at her and he narrowed his blue eyes before commenting. “Has it ever occurred to you that I might be able to catch the airplanes because hello, werewolf?”

Jai thought on this for just a moment, then gave a bored shake of her head, “nope, thought never crossed my mind.”

Peter rolled his eyes and went back to his book, but Jai sat up quickly, dropped the papers to the floor, and headed towards the kitchen after rising from the couch, eyes on the stairs to the loft and the footsteps that descended. Derek's strutted - because that’s what Jai compared it to - into the room as soon as the coffee pot started gurgling, and with his eyes set on her and a smirk on his face, he moved over towards the table and rested beside Gwen.

“What's going on?”

Gwen huffed. “Well, I've been analyzing the video that Stiles sent me for the last three hours, with absolutely no results other than the fact that... yes, that was our same creature. Plus, the images he sent Jai of the victim from five years ago are just a little off? And I can't pinpoint why.”

“It's because you're looking at it at the wrong angle.” Jai spoke up grabbing a coffee mug off the counter and waited impatiently, constantly switching her weight back and forth from one foot to the other. “If you turn the phone about thirty degrees to the right, you might be able to have a better perspective of it.”

Gwen stared at her for a moment before doing just that, and then set back. “Huh! Would you look at that?”

“What is it?” Derek bent down enough to set his chin on her shoulder, looking at the phone with an inspecting eye. “That's not exactly our sigil.”

“No it's not, is it?” He stepped back as Gwen stood and made her way into the kitchen. She sat the phone down on the counter and stared at the side of Jai's face, as the shorter hunter continued to watch the coffee percolate into the pot. “Explain this.”

Jai slowly turned her head to look at her friend, a small smile on her face, as she reached out and took the phone being offered to her. She placed it down on the counter, used her fingers to zoom in, and slid it back.

“You don't recognize it? This is not the same as the other one.”

“I get that, what I'm asking you is to explain it.”

Peter closed the book, quietly setting it down on the counter beside him as he slowly rose to his feet and made his way over to the kitchen bar where he stood observing the girls. This could be fun.

Jai shifted so that her body faced Gwen and sighed. “I don't have an answer.”

“Can somebody please tell me what you're looking at?” Peter asked, interrupting the stare off between the girls.

“The sigil on this body is a triskele,” Gwen stated without looking up, but that got Derek's attention because he had just been looking at it and hadn't seen the resemblance. “Not only that but it's a triquetra, fused together to make a completely different sigil.”

“And how would she be able to explain that?”

Gwen looked up at him in aggravation and sighed. “It’s a spell.”

“Right, I see.” Peter clenched his jaw and looked over Jai as she poured a cup of coffee, basically ignoring everyone in the room. “Is this going to drain her?”

“Probably not,” she watched the worry on the man’s face as he kept his eyes on the woman beside her but it was Derek that cleared his throat, catching their attention. 

“Do you think there’s some sort of reason for the difference in sigils?” 

Gwen shrugged, still waiting on Jai before she finally gave up and moved to the couch, growing impatient. Derek followed, sitting across from her. “This whole case is a little strange.” 

“Welcome to Beacon Hills,” his smile was light, contagious and Gwen found herself relaxing before Jai swooped in and sat beside her, phone in one hand, coffee in another and she was biting her lip. Derek turned his attention to her. “What do you think?”

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s our guy.” Jai slowly set the phone on the couch between them, cupped her mug with both hands and brought it to her lips. “It’s not the pattern that’s different, since those two symbols could mean anything when they’re joined like that. Even your tattoo means something different to you than it does to anyone else, but this…” Jai put her feet on the floor, the mug on the table and sat forward, taking the phone again. “Both sigils are a trio. Mother, maiden, croan. Father, son, holy ghost…” Her eyes went to him, “alpha, beta, omega. The triquetra is the same thing, unity, family, and trust. I’m not so sure this was so much a way to draw the life force out as it was a calling card for a family meeting.”

“Great, so we have things that leave bodies as Facebook group messages?” Peter sighed.

“You use Facebook?” Jai snarked, getting him to shake his head but she dropped it and went back to the phone. “Stiles said it was found up near the border.”

“Right,” Gwen whispered, eyes on the table, but it dawned on her as she slowly sat back. “Wait,” she licked her lips, turning her gaze to Jai, “you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?”

“I’d like to know what you're thinking, it would be so much easier than guessing.” Peter mumbled, as he crossed his leg over his knee.

“There’s no way.” Jai shook her head, dismissing the whole thing. “it wasn’t traveling through Portland when the crytos happened. That would just…”

“Be just our luck?” Gwen got up quickly, moved to grab her laptop and came back to the table.

“It’s grasping at straws. Besides, five years,” she pointed at the phone before looking up, “not one or two-ish.” 

“It’s a lead.” She sat down beside Jai and started typing, something that got the guys to look at each other as the smaller one pulled her legs up and sipped on her coffee. 

Her phone pinged as Gwen researched away. It had been on the table, hadn’t moved since she got up, but when she clicked on the message from Stiles again, her face paled. She swallowed hard, took a breath in and set the coffee down, reaching out to stop the low ticking noise coming from beside her.

Gwen paused, looked her over and saw not only the confusion on her face, but the worry. “What is it?”

“Stiles knows the identity of our fourth, the video he sent.” Jai turned the phone slowly as Gwen nearly dropped the keyboard, before slipping her hand around the device, making Derek sit forward, slowly moving the laptop to the table. “His name is Jared Pollack, and he’s our ghost.”

“What?” Peter snapped, moving forward as well. The two men stared in awe as Gwen turned the phone. There, on the screen, was the photo submitted for the man’s missing persons report. “How is that possible?”

“Residual effects,” Gwen shrugged, “but maybe not from the spirit.” She looked over at Jai, who apparently was thinking the same thing.

“Maybe it’s from whatever’s sucking out their souls.” Jai got up quickly, making her way towards the bedroom to grab her coat. When she turned, Peter stood, moving into block her way. Her eyes narrowed on his the best she could. “Peter.”

“You’re not going out there.” His voice was calm but there was an underlying authority to it that made her shiver.

“Get out of my way.” Jai glared up at him, but the beta wasn’t backing down. Gwen smiled, knowing what was coming next as Jai suddenly pouted and whined. “Oh, come on, we’ve been sitting down long enough, and I’m twitchy.”

“This isn’t how it should be done.” He was right, but she wasn’t going to agree to that out loud, she just needed some space. “Last time you left this building, you barely came back. Now, sit down and think this through.” Gwen chuckled at that but Peter wasn’t letting up. “You’re still weak.”

“I am  _ not _ weak,” she replied, her voice low and the only thing that made Peter do was smile, but he reached out, placed a hand on her neck, thumb moving over the lower part of her jaw, a comforting touch she closed her eyes to. 

“Don't I know that,” he whispered fondly, sighing, “but your angel healed the battle wounds, he did nothing for your scent.”

“What?” She stepped away from him, confused.

“What Peter’s saying is that whatever magic you have from your time,” Derek paused, as he stood beside the couch, watching them, “whatever magic you have is drained, and while your body is strong and healed, that part of you isn’t, and like I told Gwen, you can tell by a person’s scent what’s going on with them.”

“Well,” she huffed, going back and forth between them before she lay her eyes on Peter, “stop smelling me, it’s creepy, and my ability to do my job isn’t linked to that, I’m not helpless without it.” She dropped the coat over the chair beside her and moved back to curl up on the couch, not admitting that maybe he was right, but she nudged Gwen’s thigh with her toes. “We need to figure this out.”

“We need to talk to Argent,” she whispered, looking over Derek as he stood there speaking quietly to Peter.

“And soon.” Jai reached for the phone again, replying to Stiles before she opened up another text message to Scott, debated and finally started typing,  _ we need to talk _ before hitting send. The instant reply was something she hadn’t expected. One simple word.

_ Okay. _

~~~~~ 

When Scott arrived at Derek’s loft, because calling it a building was still too weird, he didn’t expect to see Jai waiting for him in the garage. He had pulled the SUV right in and parked it, something they all had access to as a safety measure from a time when Gerard Argent had started up another faction of hunters. 

He really didn’t expect to see her alone, leaning back on the windshield of Derek’s Camaro, eyes to the high ceiling like she was stargazing, and he really hadn’t expected to see her without shoes, socked feet planted right on the hood.

“He’s going to kill you if you get a scratch on that.” He stated softly as he approached, pretty sure she hadn’t heard him coming with how lost in thought she was. Her blue eyes whipped to his and she smiled as she sat up.

“Well, you know,” she just shrugged. “He’s not an alpha so I guess I wouldn't be coming back as a werewolf.” She sat up, crossed her legs and leaned her elbows to her knees. After an uncomfortable moment of contemplation, something she did while staring right at him, she narrowed her gaze. “You know, I actually thought of it, the  _ bite _ , changing... what it would be like to be like you.”

“A werewolf?” Scott scoffed, “it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“No, like you.” This had his attention, and Scott crossed his arms, confusion written on his face. “Heroic, focused on everyone around you, like…” she paused, “like everyone’s life matters, not just those closest to you. You have a morality that I only wished I had, because to be honest, I don’t do this to save lives, I do it to satisfy my own. So yeah, I’d like to be like you.”

“I’m not perfect,” he groaned, moving closer to the car, watching her slide to the edge as he stood between her thighs, hands on the car. “There are days when I wish I could do what you do, shut it off, take care of my pack and only them. Be free.”

“If there’s the one thing this is not, it’s freeing,” Jai laughed, turning her eyes to a spot on the floor, but it was the feeling of his finger just under her chin that made her look up. “I can’t have you hating me because of what I did, Scott. I don’t know why, but I can’t.”

“I don’t hate you,” he admitted, looking around as he shook his head. “The alpha in me…”

“I know, we clash, but ever since last night at the festival, you’ve been different, I can feel it.” She put her hands on his hips and pushed him back before jumping from the car. Scott moved, watching her tug the loose sneakers on before she leaned on the fender. “We have the information about the new victim, and we’re headed to the festival, tonight.”

“Why are you telling me?”

“Because I’m not going to keep a secret from you when it has to do with this case, and I would hope you would show me the same courtesy.” She stood straight, looked at his posture and reached out to him again, placing a hand on his. “Am I the bad guy?”

“No,” he smirked, “where’s Peter?”

Jai glanced around, grin on her face and humor in her eyes. “Somewhere around here, I’m sure.”

“Why’s he following you?” Jai dropped her hand and shrugged.

“Because he’s Peter.” She moved further into the garage and sighed. “Where’s Stiles?”

“Work. Gwen?”

“Up talking to Derek, going over the whole  _ latest evidence _ thing.”

“Why did you want me here?”

“To seduce you,” she gave him her best lust-filled smile, but Scott only rolled his eyes, which got her to huff. “See, I tease and get no reaction. It’s insufferable.”

“Because I don’t react to you?”

“It’s because you don’t that it makes me want to try harder,” she stepped up to him again, reaching out to put both hands on his chest. He closed his eyes, steadied himself against the rush of whatever it was about her, and then slowly opened them, hoping his power didn’t reflect. 

“Stop trying.” He uncrossed his arms, placed his fingers gently around her wrists and held them for a moment before pulling them away from his skin. “Jai, you’re wrong, I do react, and I don’t want to. So, please, stop.”

“All you had to do was ask,” she winked, slipped her hands from his, but watched as he curled them into fists. “No more secrets, okay?”

“Then tell me,” he reached out to grab at her, but felt short when she stepped back. “Tell me how you changed. The real story, not just what you did to get there. I don’t want to keep thinking you're the bad guy, but with what I know alone, I can't help it.”

Jai thought for a moment, glanced up at the top of the staircase shrouded in darkness, the place where Peter sat hidden, and nodded, eyes going back to his brown ones. “Okay, but not here.”

“Fine, where?”

“Let’s say you and I take a walk.” 

Scott’s eyes went right to the same spot, and he drew in a deep breath, before nodding, turning his gaze back to her. “Alright.”

**The Library**

The door slid closed behind Peter as he moved out of the room, following Jai down to the garage. The woman was actually taking the elevator this time, something that shocked both Gwen and Derek, because she had made it known how much she hated the gated contraception.

When both were gone, Derek closed the distance between them, Gwen standing near the table, and he stopped only a foot or so away to look in her eyes. He could smell the anxiety… no, wait, that wasn’t quite it. It was more a combination of every feeling he could imagine with all that had gone on and he hated it. 

He liked the way she smelled when she was happy, or content, the shifting scent of ozone and gunpowder, of honey and whatever tea that Jai insisted on making her, something that came close to salted caramel, but not quite.

Gwen stared at him, which didn’t bother the former alpha at all, in fact he loved that she could look him right in the eyes and not back down, that he didn’t have to look down at her. With a deep breath, he reached out, placed the tips of his fingers on her collarbone before he followed the neckline of her shirt up and rested them on her neck, tips along her spine and everything seemed to melt from her.

“You’ve been waiting for her to run all day, haven’t you?” Derek smiled, it wasn’t that bright one she seemed to be able to pull from him in fleeting private moments, but it was still enough to show teeth, something that brightened his eyes. Nevertheless, she’d take it. “It’s like she has you on edge.”

“She always has me on edge. She’s too much of a loose cannon. A wind-up toy turned so tight that the spring is set to constant motion. Sometimes it’s good when she finally goes off.” Gwen drew in a deep breath and closed the distance, letting their bodies touch, her hand clenching fistfuls of his shirt as his hand rested on her hip. “The ghost, Derek, it was the same man.”

“I know,” he pulled her in, let her rest her chin on his shoulder and buried his nose against her neck, closing his eyes at the feeling of her being so close. Tactile need was something he didn’t understand, not really, and most of the time he could avoid it but she made it so hard to resist. It was good, it  _ felt _ good, and he inhaled as much of her as he could. “We need to stop this, but the more information we have, the more complicated it gets. I don’t think we’re used to this, not having our enemies attack us directly. I feel like there’s something we’re not seeing.”

“Yeah, our killer,” she scoffed, and Derek shivered when she placed her lips against his neck, an unconscious move that a werewolf would naturally make to calm down, but Gwen wasn’t a werewolf, and while it wasn’t sexual in nature, it was definitely something different. “So, you met Cas.”

“Angels,” he stated in disbelief, “and demons, and now I think I’ve seen everything.”

“Not everything. You haven’t met the Winchesters yet.” She laughed against him, her warm breath blowing on his neck and he leaned his head down so his cheek touched hers. 

“I don’t know if I want to since you were so protective of him keeping us a secret. I have a feeling it would be bad.” 

Gwen’s snort brought out that wide smile. “They’re not that bad, but sometimes Dean leaps before he looks. I don’t need a bullet in you before he can say hello.”

“They wouldn’t hurt us,” Derek brought his hand down from her neck to rub along her back. “Silver bullets do damage but that’s because they’re bullets, the real issue is wolfsbane. It’s a poison to us.”

“It’s a poison to everyone. Just touching the flowers alone could give you aconite poisoning. I’m surprised anyone even gets remotely close to it.” Derek shook his head. How could she be this way, completely serious but so funny at the same time? He wrapped his arms around her upper body shielding her with his own 

“I have an idea,” he whispered just to her, not that there was anyone else to hear it but there was the sound of the approaching heartbeat that had his attention. “How about we go in the room and close the door?”

“You just want to cuddle,” she sighed in content at the thought.

“That’s exactly what I want to do, and not as a wolf. Just like this, with you.” He pushed her back, waited for her to look at him and locked his green eyes onto hers. “However you want to do it, but as us, not as a hunter and a wolf.”

“Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Hale? You do remember that I have an angel as a partner, right?”

“I just think we need some downtime.”

“Oh, I’m not saying no, I just thought I might put that out there.” 

Derek stepped back, took her hand in his and led her to the room, slowly closing the door behind them just as Peter came back into the loft alone, mumbling under his breath about sarcastic hunters and obnoxious alphas, but Derek was already too wrapped up in the woman he was smiling at.

~~~~~

Peter made his way downstairs as soon as the commotion started. He had been reading for hours, trying to hide away, to keep from following Scott and Jai out into the world, to stop from eavesdropping on his nephew and the hunter in the room downstairs, anything to get his mind on straight because these two had fucked him up but good. He never had this issue before, he could step back, not get involved unless he had some knowledge he could offer, a way to manipulate a situation to his needs, but this… this was going to be his undoing. 

He was too protective of a human alpha, too invested in a beta… sorry,  _ omega _ then he had the right to be and it sucked. He hated it, but what he despised more was waiting around to see what happened next. Right now, two hours after the woman’s return from her  _ walk _ , what was happening was that Jai and Gwen were actually arguing. 

He knew the difference from their ruse earlier, the one they used to get out of the loft and what was going on now. Jai was standing by the table, phone in her hand as she glared at the woman in front of her, not caring about the fact that Gwen towered over her by almost a foot. She wasn’t backing down. It was Derek’s concern that made him question just what was going on. He tilted his head just a bit, honed his listening in onto the slight movements of her mouth.

“We need to go,” Jai bit out.

“This is Argent, who’s left us to figure this out on our own. What makes you think he’s going to have anything we don’t already?” Gwen was right, in a way.

“He’s our contact, and as much as I love the sudden swap of our roles, G, I’m telling you this is something we have to do.”

“And where are we going?”

Jai looked around and handed her the phone. “I know that it’s hard when I just jump in headfirst, but we need to do this.”

There was a moment of silence and then a quick: “fine, how?”

“Just like this,” she snatched the phone away and dialed a number, placing it to her ear as she made for the door. 

Peter blinked.  _ What the hell was that? _

Gwen rolled her eyes, her whole head in fact and made for the door herself, grabbing her coat as she went, and then stepped back to take Jai’s. She stopped at Derek, gave him a small smile, and took his hand.

“I won’t let her do anything outrageously obnoxious.” 

“Just be careful,” was all he said before Gwen let go and out the door she went.

Peter tracked their movements, hearing the footsteps on the stairs until they disappeared before he made his way to his nephew. Derek stood with his hands on his hips, completely out of sorts before he turned to Peter, threw his hands in the air and shrugged.

“I don’t get it.”

“Welcome to the club,” Peter scoffed, sitting down on the steps as he looked around the room. It wasn’t dirty or disorganized. 

To tell the truth, the room looked like it always did, filled with projects that the Hale men had started but had yet to bring to completion because they were so into the detail that sometimes it took years, like renovating the building. But it was different at the same time. He could tell they had been there, the girls, because it was a cyclone of disaster, an albeit clean disaster that unless you had witnessed it, you wouldn’t have known it had even happened. 

“You know, I’m kind of curious about these Winchesters.” Derek flopped down on the couch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table, something that he usually frowned upon himself but to Peter, the man looked oddly relaxed for the first time in a long time. 

“I’d ask why, but I’m pretty sure I know the answer.” He wrapped his hands around the iron rail, took in the metallic scent of the support bar and sighed as he pressed his temple against it. “Though I can’t say I wouldn’t be tempted to join you, anyone able to handle those hurricanes is worth observing.”

“That’s just it, they’re so…” Derek waved his hands around, looking for a moment like he had picked up some of Stiles’ non-verbal expressions. “How does anyone deal with them in large doses.”

“Carefully,” he smirked, pushed to his feet and headed for the bar. It was then that he paused, cocked his head just a bit and blinked. “Do you hear that?”

Derek did the same, let his hearing focus on the sound of an engine, and he suddenly sat forward, feet to the floor, eyes wide and glowing blue. “Son of a bitch,” that was more shock than anything, until he looked up at his uncle. “That’s my car!”

Just then, the security alarm in the loft went off, signifying the garage door opening and both men moved out onto the balcony, leaning over as the sleek black Camaro zoomed out of the garage, through the alley that the two sides of the U-shaped building made, and disappeared into the night. 

“She stole my car!”

Derek let it out, he dropped his fangs, flared his blue eyes and roared like a lion instead of a wolf, which only got Peter to stare at him. He wasn’t pissed that they were gone - he should have known something would be amiss - he was pissed because they stole his car, which meant… Derek turned and headed back in, going for his jacket as he felt the weight of the keys inside of it and slammed it down on the table.

She hotwired it.

“I’m gonna kill her,” Derek whispered.

Peter scoffed, rolled his eyes and shut the balcony door before he dug the keys to the Jag out of his pocket.

“Apparently, that’s been done,” Peter jingled the keys in his face as he walked by moving towards the door. “Moving on. Let’s go before they’re too far away to track them.”

Derek shook the anger from his head, grabbed his phone and played with the screen as he stomped his way out of the loft. Peter only smirked as the two of them made their way down to the waiting classic, stopping just before opening the door, Derek looked up at Peter’s face in confusion.

The older man furrowed his brows at the look on his nephew’s face. “What?”

“I know where they went.” 

“Do tell, because they couldn’t have gone far if you can still hear them.”

“I can’t hear them.” Derek turned the phone in his hand and showed him the blinking dot. “I tracked them with the car’s GPS. They’re at the school library.”

“Of course, it would all swing back to the school.” Peter sighed, and practically ripped the door open. “I was hoping to avoid that place.”

“Why the library?” Derek questioned, slipping into the car without as much  _ angry  _ fanfare as Peter, but angry nonetheless. “And why my car?”

“Please, like they’d hotwire a classic. It’s much easier to…” Peter stopped, blinked, and then turned just his head in the direction of his passenger before he gave a little shake. “I should have known.”

“What?” 

Peter started it, threw it in gear, and tore out as soon as the door opened enough for him to squeak by. “When I took her to see the body, there was an oddness to the conversation about this. Jai asked if Gwen’s father had one in his collection, but she just said no. It was the fact that she drilled me about getting something different that I couldn’t figure out. Now I know.”

“She needed to know if they could hotwire it,” Derek huffed, slamming his head back against the seat. “Gwen knows just as much about cars as Jai, so keeping you talking…”

“Would keep me from seeing her look over the steering column.” Peter ran a hand down his face. “Sneaky. Impressive, but sneaky.”

“Jai did the same thing, when she passed out from closing the door in the woods.” Derek sighed, still staring at the ceiling. 

“How so?”

Derek narrowed his eyes, fixating on his uncle. “You know how much she hates being carried, right?”

“Unreasonably so.”

“So, why wait in the car while Scott and I get out, only to have him help her out of the back seat for me to  _ carry _ her? She was perfectly fine, for the most part and as soon as we got to the loft, she fought to get down.”

“She was looking over the dash,” Peter rolled his eyes. They were good. “Now we just have to get to them before they do something monumentally stupid.”

Derek exhaled loudly, that’s exactly what he was worried about.

~~~~~

When they pulled up to the library at the Beacon Hills High School, the parking lot was all but empty. The only cars there were the Camaro, left in pristine condition, and a familiar, black SUV. Both men exited, walking up to the vehicle but it was Derek that peeked inside.

“Argent,” he whispered, shaking his head. “They said they needed to get in touch with him. Why not do it at the loft?”

“Easy enough,” Peter whispered, staring up the steps at the two-story building, “neutral ground.”

“They didn’t need neutral ground,” Derek scowled.

“No, but they needed to get away from a few werewolves.” Peter raised a brow, getting the man who stepped up beside him something to think about, but that was when he concentrated on the three heartbeats inside. “And maybe a little time away from our alpha. It’s just them, no Scott in sight.”

“Good, maybe we’ll get something done,” Derek grumbled and headed straight for the building.

The smile on Peter’s face told him he totally agreed, as the two of them made their way in, breaking in through a side door. The only plus of having three humans in the building was they didn’t hear the snap of the lock as Derek broke it and slowly opened the door. 

They split up, moved to separate ends of the back of the library and found their way to the second floor via small back staircases. Derek ducked down on one, eyes going to the girls to check them over, and Peter sat down, back to the wall as he closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of their voices and their hearts.

In the middle of the second floor balcony, an odd place for a table, where the staircase split off to two smaller, three-step ups before the actual landings, Jai sat on the sturdy, cherry table top, swinging her feet in and out. She was aware enough of Gwen beside her, who stood with her back to the open area that was the main floor of the library, hands resting on the wood as she quietly stared down at the papers.

It wasn’t the taller hunter leaving herself open for attack, it was her trusting her partner enough to keep her covered, but mainly, she was doing it for strategy, the same way that Jai looked totally unarmed and unprepared as she stretched her arms out behind her. However, it wasn’t that way at all.

From Jai’s position, she could see the front door, across the balconies to the other side where the emergency entrances were, had full access to any of the shadowed locations on the first floor and could keep an eye on the large amounts of skylights the building had thought was a great idea to draft into its plans. And even with as lax as she might look, Jai wasn’t unarmed. The hell blade was hidden in her jacket, the gun at the small of her back, and two spring-released knives were strapped to her lower arms, easily accessible for hand to hand.

While her eyes and concentration seemed to be on the papers before her, Gwen was standing in a place where she could see everything Jai couldn’t, especially the ten foot wall of windows that reminded her of Derek’s loft. But no matter how at ease the girls looked, how confident they were in their ability to fight, it was Argent that paced the other side of the table, right in Gwen’s eye-line, which was more relaxing than some might think since she knew where he was and Jai didn’t stand put either.

Gwen had been standing there, studying for the last ten minutes, which made Jai huff and look over, questioning. “Well”

“He’s not wrong,” she whispered, looking up to meet her eyes and Jai sat forward, all motion of her legs stopped as she narrowed her eyes at nothing and nodded. Gwen looked up at Argent. “I’m sure the pack thought of doing a DNA test for unknowns, but what made you do it?”

“Our unknown,” he moved towards the table and tapped the paper. “We still can’t get a clear enough picture to know who he is, but the fact that both sets of DNA are now intermingled made me curious.”

“Wait,” Jai quickly pivoted, looking at him, “does that mean he’s gonna come back to life?”

“This isn’t a zombie movie, Jai, this is real life.” Argent scolded and Jai just scoffed.

“Have you seen our real lives? Zombies would just be the icing on the cake, a completely, no-way-in-hell, full of bullshit, biological no-no icing but icing nonetheless.” She bitched and turned around to finish her sentence. “Of course, someone would bring up zombies.” She rolled her eyes, “has no one ever taken an actual human anatomy class? You know the brain liquefies within twenty-four hours, right, and don’t give me the whole “the virus changed it” crap, cause just no!”

“Focus,” Gwen huffed and Jai let out a small growl of irritation, stilling herself as she bit her tongue. Gwen gave her one more glance over before she picked up the paper before her and read some of the results. “No separate DNA markers for the human side of him, so there’s no way for an ID, no animal trace DNA so the whole shifter thing is out of the question.”

“Werewolves and other shifters are powerful creatures, but none of which can do something like mummify a body.” Argent agreed.

“Vampires!” Jai spun around again, and the two looked her over. “Wait, just hear me out.” She shifted, sliding off the table so that she stood at the end, looking at the both. “You guys heard about the  _ hungry, little caterpillar,  _ what this is a vamp with an eating disorder?”

“That’s not funny,” Gwen snapped.

“No, not like that, I mean an actual issue of draining past death, a big no-no in any lore.”

“Plausible, but you said there wasn’t anything at the sight. No trace, no signature.” Gwen countered and Jai nodded.

“True.” She turned towards the stairs, stopped at the edge and looked down into the dimly lit room. 

“What else do we know?” Gwen turned back to Argent.

“What I got from consultants on the case is that this isn’t an isolated incident,” which got Jai to roll her eyes as she thought of the victim by the border. “And the most well known cases are in Ireland and Scotland. We don’t have many here because we’re so far west, not that that’s stopped anything in the last four hundred years. The east coast has their good amount but it’s usually something the faction can hide fairly well.”

“Well enough that we’ve never heard of a single case,” she agreed but something was still bothering her. “East coast? Like Maine?”

“Yeah, mostly.” 

Gwen grabbed her bag from the floor, dug out her tablet and started punching stuff into it as Jai sat down on the staircase, eyes now on the second floor. The phone on the table in front of Argent rang loudly, echoing through the building, and vibrating against the hard surface, catching both girls’ attention as they stared up at him. Argent huffed, he could almost hear the reprimand coming, but he snatched it up, and put it to his ear.

“Yeah,” Jai smiled, turning back because she can just imagine who it was from the frustration on his face. It’s Gwen that he raises his finger to in order to let her know to keep silent. “I’ll be right there. Tell Stiles.” Jai glanced back but didn’t turn fully and Gwen looked on with concern but stayed quiet. “No, I know he’s at work, but he needs to know. Yes, Scott,” Gwen scoffed, “I’m on my way now.”

He hung up the phone, eyes locked on Gwen’s and sighed. She raised her hand before he could speak, gave a small shake of her head, before going back to the papers. Argent moved down to stand beside Jai, eye level with her on the stairs. 

“Did you fix it?” He whispered softly, “with Scott?”

“For the most part,” she shrugged and looked around, “we have an understanding.”

“Then fix whatever it is between them,” he pointed at Gwen and just listened to the way Jai snickered before his blue eyes set on hers. 

“Chris, you’re a great guy, awesome hunter, but the sooner you realize that there is no way to control a damn thing she does, the better off you, me, Scott, the rest of the pack, hell, the whole world will be.” Jai winked at him, watched the frustration evident on his face as he sighed, turned, and made it down a few more steps before he turned again. 

“Give Derek back his car and make sure there’s not a scratch on it.”

“Dude,” she laughed, “when you meet Dean Winchester and find out how obnoxiously obsessed he is with his baby, you will understand the depths of my commitment to returning precious, stolen cars without a paint chip out of place. It’s an artform, really.”

He let out a slow breath, looked her over like she was insane and pointed at her. “Don’t die, and if Derek gets mad, don’t get bitten.”

“Can’t say I haven’t been curious about how this bite works from any other source but an alpha, but I think I might actually take you up on that one. As attractive as Derek may be in all forms,” she gave a saucy little smile, “not exactly the set of teeth I’d like at my neck.”

“Just,” he started a little flabbergasted, “don’t antagonize the wolves.”

“Hey, what can I say, it just comes naturally.” Jai stood, knowing that Argent wouldn’t leave if she kept engaging and she wouldn’t stop engaging until he shut up, she turned and moved up towards Gwen, essentially cutting off the conversation. They listened to him leave, the door clicking shut quietly behind him and Jai found her space on the table again, legs kicking. “You think he’s full of shit?”

“No,” Gwen whispered after a while and slid the tablet over, “look at this.”

Jai read over the information quietly, giving a few “huhs” ever now and again and handed it back. “Seems legit.”

“So, you and Scott?”

“Took a walk, G, nothing spectacular.” Jai snapped up a piece of paper and looked it over. “We got a few things straightened but he’s still up in arms about you, and I know you don’t like him so I’m not gonna say to put yourself out there, but he’s not gonna hurt me,” Jai reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, getting Gwen to look up, “and he’s not gonna hurt you, right?”

“You don’t know that,” she sighed, “Because except for the two we’re bunking with, we don’t know them at all, and please don’t say you know Stiles because you don’t know that one either.” Gwen stood straight and crossed her arms. “You know this back and forth thing with you is giving me whiplash, what’s with you?

Jai looked out at the darkness and shrugged, “don’t know.”

“Bullshit, you know everything.” This got Jai to look up. “Don’t play stupid, you always do that. You always make it seem like you don’t know a Goddamn thing, but you always have a plan and your backup plans have plans, Jai. I know you better than you know yourself, so don’t think for a minute that I believe your bullshit.”

“Fine, I’m tired.” She shrugged. “I’m tired of fighting, tired of constantly being worried that I’d die, that you’d die, and one of us would be left alone. Sure, we have the boys, but they’re in the same boat, and it’s sinking, slowly.”

“It’s not.”

“Come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed. There’s too many of them, and not enough of us.

“It’s always been that way.”

Jai jumped down from the table, fist clenched as she kept her cool, and sighed. “Not always.”

“And what could that possibly have to do with Scott McCall?”

“Don’t you see?” She barked, stopping to glare at her friend. “We.  _ Need. _ Help!”

Peter sat up straighter, his blue eyes opened to show the power that flashed through them at her words, and not necessarily her meaning but the power behind them. He willed his body to stay put even as everything in them screamed for him to run to her.

Derek pressed himself back against the wall, eyes tightly closed as his fangs grew. There was a power there, between the two of them, a spark that called on his wolf, but he reached up, wrapped his hands around the rail and fought against it before it slowly lessened. It wasn’t just Jai, whatever it was, this power was both of them.

“We need help,” she replied a little less violently. “You and me, G, we’ve always had each other, but we need more, and if it means making nice with the local alpha to get it, then so be it. It’s not going to change  _ us _ , okay. It’s you and me against the world, just like always. But doesn’t you, me, and an entire pack of werewolves sound so much cooler?”

“I have to admit,” Gwen smirked after a moment, “someone like Derek on our side could be most helpful.”

“Sure, that’s what I meant.” There was a smile in Jai’s voice that Peter picked up on, and from the sounds of air swooshing, he knew she was back on that table, swinging her legs. It was Gwen’s next question that really had his ears piqued.

“What happened in the shower last night?” 

Jai scoffed, “wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“Not really but were you safe? And do I need to tell Sam?” His name came out more of some sort of sing-songy, teasing voice and Peter suppressed a growl at it. He knew that Sam was hers, it didn’t stop the flash of jealousy. 

“Fuck you and no.” Jai snipped, but there wasn’t any real anger in it, “he was concerned, that’s all, he just needed to make sure I was fine. Besides, what the hell was with you and puppy taking the whole damn bed?” 

Derek released the rail, his heart racing, something he was sure Peter could hear because he wasn’t bothering to control it. He didn’t know what Gwen would say, but with their discussion last night and earlier when Jai was with Scott, the agreement that nothing would happen between them unless Dean was consulted played through his mind.

“What do you care? You woke up with Peter.” 

Jai let out a frustrated huff and jumped down, her sneakers hitting the floor echoed through the building. “Can we please stop?” There was a rustle of paper and then another of the same noise. “Please, just tell me what the hell I’m looking at.” 

“It’s a fairy.” 

Peter’s eyes widened as he slumped down against the wall, just before they furrowed. His mind going a mile a minute.

“Excuse me?” Jai was just about at his level, but she shook it off. “So, your cousin came to town to visit?” 

Peter closed his eyes again, zoned his hearing in and just listened.

“My cousin is not a fairy, she’s just small. And you’re one to talk, Tiny Dancer.” That teasing tone was Gwen’s way of shaking off the strange tension.

“OOH, singing, haven’t done that in a while.” 

“Please don’t start.” 

“You gonna tell me what the hell I’m looking at before I start defacing school property? I saw this shelf over there, all the students’ initials, might go add mine to it.” 

“You wouldn’t? Jai, this is their school.”

“Yeah, that’s got to have the best insurance ever with how many times it’s been practically destroyed. I looked up the news articles. Stiles and Scott, they did everything but burn the place to the ground, and don’t even get me started on when Theo and Liam were here, we haven’t even met them yet.”

“I’ve seen him.”

“Who?”

“Theo Raeken.” Peter flashed back to the hospital, and held in the rumble that threatened to come out.

“Oh? Do tell.”

“He was… impressive, just your type.”

“Maybe when this is done...”

“You have Stiles, and Peter, probably Scott, you don’t need the whole damn pack.”

“Please, don’t ever let that statement leave your mouth ever again. I don’t  _ have _ anyone.”

“You do, and you know it.”

“Can we get back to this whole thing? I’m in school, I might as well learn something. You know I was the biology teacher’s pet.”

“Yeah, cause you were just the best kid ever in high school, and he probably gave you private lessons!” There was a loud snap of fingers against skin and Gwen howled. “Ow!”

“Take that back!” 

Derek smirked at the way their demeanor changed, but he couldn’t help but think of all the times they had used this distraction technique before. It made him wonder exactly what was going on.

“Fine, I take it back.” A small pause broke the banter before Gwen cleared her throat. “Now, it doesn’t give me any particular breed, if you want to use a dog analogy, but it gives me more of a species of fairy.”

“Okay, so wow, great, we got “it’s a fairy.” Should I order balloons now, or wait for the cigars.”

“Gods, you’re a bitch,” and Jai laughed, “at least we’re one step closer.”

“So, tell me what kind of fairies might be  _ lurking _ in Beacon Hills?”

“Why did you say it like that?”

“Well, you never know, I mean there are ears everywhere.” 

Peter sat up, eyes opened wide as he turned to look at where they were standing. There was no way they could have known, but Gwen just brushed it off.

“Okay, stop! We also might be able to narrow it down if we knew what kind of religion it comes from.”

“You weren’t listening, were you?” Jai giggled, but then whispered as if it just hit her. “The box.”

“What?”

“You said we need to think outside the box.”

“Yeah.”

“So, what if we need to step completely away from ours, and start thinking about what might be in theirs.”

“How many coffees did you have today?”

“Enough, Scott bought me an extra large froo-froo one at this quaint little shop downtown.”

“Shut up, and just tell me what you meant.”

“Argent said Scotland and Ireland, east coast, right?” Jai paused, before suddenly pacing. “What surrounds this pack?”

Gwen sighed loudly, and then quietly whispered, “we need the mythology and urban legends of Beacon hills?”

“Exactly.” 

“Great,” there was the sound of papers shuffling, “let’s go home.”

“Yeah, so you think Derek will still let me drive the Camaro, or am I gonna be stuck with Peter?”

Peter slowly stood, still not making himself known, but he could almost picture what was going on in his mind, Jai with that little smirk, Gwen with an irritated look, but it was the response that tightened every muscle in his body. “You can ask.”

They knew, they fucking knew. 

“Okay.” Jai’s voice was full of mischief, “hey, Derek, can I drive the Camaro?”

The former alpha felt himself fall into a half shift before he growled out, “NO!” as he made his way up the stairs, and through the shelves to face her. Jai had her hands behind her back, looking casually, but Derek could see the fight in her eyes. “You  _ hotwired  _ my car.”

“Yeah, but I promise to wax it later,” she winked.

“Do you know the cost of the repairs I have to do on it now?” 

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes as he moved out from the darkness only to lean on the closest shelf in Gwen’s line of sight. 

“Actually, you shouldn’t have to do any,” Jai shrugged, slipping her hand from under her shirt, relaxing enough to leave the gun. Derek looked up at Peter, questioningly but the man just raised a brow in return. “I repaired it all while we were waiting for Argent to arrive, and we figured you two wouldn’t be too far behind.”

Jai turned, stuffed her hands in her pockets, leaving her wide open for anything, put her back to them and headed down the stairs. Gwen slipped the strap for her bag over her shoulder and looked directly at Derek.

“This might come as a big surprise to most people, but she isn’t the uncaring bitch she likes to have people believe, especially if she cares about that person.” Gwen stepped away from him, following Jai down the stairs.

Derek’s eyes were focused on the table, his breathing even, but the scowl on his face was one of confusion as Peter stepped up. He reached out, patted Derek on the shoulder and turned to move after them, but he paused, glancing back.

“With everything they said,” Peter whispered, before turning back to find them in the dark, “I’m not letting them go after this. They’re not going to just disappear.”

“I know,” he gave a slight nod, but brought his gaze up to lock on Peter’s profile, “me either.”


	12. Derek

**Derek**

The door to the loft was almost silent as Peter pushed it open and automatically headed straight for his favorite thing, his bourbon. He always had a specific kind, a brand of our making from a family owned distillery in Kentucky, one that Peter visited regularly to keep up on the affairs of the business. 

The Hale family owned a lot of things that most people didn’t realize. Large corporate businesses, small family breweries and farms that supplied small towns across the US. Me, I tended to stay out of everything. When my parents died, they left it all to those of us who lived, splitting it among the survivors, and when Laura died, that came to me too, but Peter had the brains, he was the one that worked with those businesses, and he definitely had a way with investing.

Jai was the next one in, scooting by me even as she trailed the pack getting off the elevator. Gwen wasn’t kidding when she said she hated it. There were a lot of things she was afraid of or hated that made me question how she had lasted so long hunting monsters that fed on those fears. But, there she went, right through the door and straight to the table, having grabbed Gwen’s bag from her on the way by.

Gwen was another story, she sort of meandered into the room, taking her time getting down the steps as I shut the door. She didn’t go right to Jai, didn’t bother heading for the kitchen to start her tea, she just paced leisurely around, her hands behind her back, one wrist in the other’s palm and she sighed,  _ loudly _ .

“Derek?” came Jai’s voice from up by the table and I saw her head drop back so she was staring up at the ceiling before she turned to me. I took my eyes from the wandering Gwen and set them on her. In what I was figuring out was her usual dramatic fashion, Jai rubbed a hand down her face and then held it out towards her partner, “would you please give her something to do, I can feel her anxiety from here?”

“Anxiety?” She didn’t smell anxious, but then again there were so many chemo signals - emotions that can be detected by scent - coming off her it was hard to discern them. Jai didn’t bother to continue, knowing once I had caught on, she wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore. I slowly approached, timing her steps to block her path as she made her way around the couch again. She stopped dead, looked up at me with wide eyes, and then slowly narrowed them. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” but there was a tone just this side of untrusting that made me smile. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“You’re not,” I whispered, slowly making my way to stand in front of her. She rolled her eyes, just enough for me to get the hint that Jai was right, she was anxious, and I reached out to grab her hand. “What is it?”

“You’ll think it’s stupid,” she was calm, at least on the outside, but I could feel her hand shake, “and pointless.”

“You’re worried about Scott, aren’t you?” She slipped out of my light hold and made her way towards the kitchen, a movement I followed, but stopped at the island and leaned on it. I wasn’t going to crowd her, but I had to know. “Why?”

I watched her exhale, her shoulders slump as she put the pot down, flicked on the burner and slowly turned towards me. She sucked in her lip before letting it out with a pop and put her hands on the counter right beside mine. 

“I don’t trust him,” she spoke softly, almost like she was testing the words. “Jai,” her eyes went to her partner for a split second and then came back to mine, “she has this way of spotting things in people, which is why she has this obsessive need to make sure he’s on our side. She sees a quality that can be used to our advantage, and the worst part about it is that she’s not a people person. She’d just as soon kill you as befriend you, so I’m not sure what her fascination with him is, but for me, it’s not his alpha side, it’s him. There’s something…”

“Off,” I nodded, because I felt it too lately. “It’s been that way since Malia left a year ago, like he’s on the edge of breaking. I hate to say this but I think I know why he’s having such a hard time with her too, and with you.”

“Besides us being hunters, and your history with anyone who even uses the word?”

“Not really,” I cleared my throat, thought back on the years since Scott was bitten and sighed. “He’s afraid to let others in, and then lose them.”

“That’s a horrible excuse.”

“As much as I agree, it’s true. Allison, Argent’s daughter, was the first one for him. Boyd, Erica; my betas, then Isaac, who’s very much alive but won’t return to Beacon Hills. Jackson is over in London, but he’s not coming back. He found a pack over there with Ethan, another of our  _ adopted  _ tribe.” I smiled at the way she nodded, like she understood collecting people to belong to your family. “Lydia is still here, but distant to anyone but Stiles, and sometimes Peter. Kira has taken on her own new role, but that means she’s gone more than she’s here. Liam and Theo are around, but Liam is in charge of the betas from his own age group, and any new betas that seem to pop up, which with the Nemeton tends to be a lot. Liam is Scott’s bitten beta, but lately with his attitude, they’ve been butting heads and Liam will only talk to Stiles when needed.”

“So, he needs a swift kick in the ass?” 

I smirked at her tone, let her make her tea before I continued and watched the way she checked on Jai, who was adding things to the crime board as she went through the messenger bag. Peter had rolled up a chair, sitting at the far end of the table with his feet up on it, just watching her. 

“Maybe a kick in the ass would help,” I turned my sights back to her, and shrugged, “maybe it would make it worse, but I think what’s going on with him towards you is him trying to keep you away. With her, he can’t help it because of what she is, but with you, if he holds you at arm’s length, the only thing he gets is more pissed off, not attached.”

“He sounds like a whiny sixteen-year-old,” she sighed, shaking her head. “I’m not equipped to deal with children.” As soon as that statement left her mouth, Jai grumbled like a frustrated toddler and stomped her foot, getting Gwen to stand up straighter. “I take it back, maybe I’m just not equipped to deal with whiny alphas. Why is Stiles not coming again? He’d be the perfect buffer.”

“He’s working,” Jai spoke up from her position, crouching in front of the lowest photograph on the board before she held up her phone and wiggled it at her in a  _ see? _ kind of fashion. How she had heard from where she was got me curious, but she went back to texting the deputy without so much as a glance over.

“We try to keep him as close to normal as we can, Stiles isn’t our only human pack member, but Mason is one of Liam’s so we have a tendency to baby him.” I shook my head, realizing the truth in my own statement before I shrugged. “Though he can protect himself well enough.”

“I just think it would be better if he were here.”

“Me too,” Jai mumbled, but Gwen would have never heard it. Peter scoffed from his position but never gave any indication of jealousy, which was unusual for him. “Hey!” She barked this time, not worried about being quiet. “Are we going to call this meeting to order at some point? I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Gwen huffed, picked her mug up and glanced at me, giving me a gentle head tilt in her direction, then walked away. 

From where I stood, I could see her movements, they were just as tense, as anxious but she had a distraction now. Jai was talking to her, a quiet mumble as she sat down on the floor beside her, eyeing over the board at her level, and behind them, Peter was smirking. 

When Scott arrived, he was met with the two of them, sitting cross legged on the floor still in that same spot, heads leaning in towards each other as Peter went through the same magazine he had been reading since Gwen sat down for the tenth time, and I was lounging on the couch. 

“What’s going on?” The young alpha whispered as he sat across from me, eyes on the trio by the table before he turned to look at me.

“They’ve been going over some facts, but otherwise nothing much,” I finally looked at him, noticed the drawn look on his face and sat up, putting my elbows to my knees as I narrowed my eyes at him. “Werewolves don’t get sick, so why does it look like you’re running a fever?”

“Not a fever,” Scott shrugged, “just running. Things at the clinic have been pretty hectic. Lots of weird mishaps with dogs lately, so I went out to the preserve to do a little patrolling, there’s nothing out there that I can sense anyway.” I watched his eyes go up towards the girls again. “Are they okay?”

“What are you so frightened of?” I lowered my voice low enough that the only one who could pick it up outside the two of us was Peter, and he was too preoccupied to care. 

“Honestly,” Scott just sat back, annoyed at himself, “losing them, just like everyone else.” I gave him a quick nod, because I knew that, not only from him but from myself and Peter. “I’ll fix it, I swear.”

“You don’t have to fix it all, Scott, you just have to be better.” 

He nodded, turned his attention to the girls once again, and rested his arm on the rest before bringing his fist up to his chin. “Why do they look like they're planning something shady?”

I sat back, smiling as I glanced up at them as well, “they probably are.” Jai whipped her head around, glared right at me and mouthed the word  _ pizza _ before she turned back to Gwen. “Guess we know what we’re having for dinner.”

“Now, please,” she hollered sweetly from the little spot where she and Gwen sat.

Scott scoffed as I reached into my pocket to dig out my phone. I could hear Jai’s cell beep several times before she snatched it off the floor, typed out something, stood and disappeared. Gwen sighed deeply, another loud exasperated noise, and watched her disappear upstairs before she went back to the laptop in front of her. That explained the reason why they were so close. Peter stood at the same time I did, but he made for the stairs, a motion that was quickly aborted when Gwen cleared her throat.

It was funny to see him stop dead, look down at her like she had just yanked his proverbial chain, and scowl before he turned and sat on the steps, blocking anyone else from going upstairs. I moved into the kitchen, grabbed the menu from the drawer and handed it over to her. She gently waved it off with a smile. 

“If they have a steak and cheese grinder, get one for her with no mushrooms, if they don’t we can split a cheese pizza.” 

“Really?” I grinned because looking at her just made everything so easy. “If they have the sandwich, what do you want?”

“Chicken habanero with no cheese, hold the jalapenos, and extra whatever else they put on it.”

“How did you know they had that?” Scott questioned quietly, getting her to look up at him with a stone expression on her face.

“Part of our research into the area we’re working in is to see what kind of take-out they offer,” she explained as I leaned against the table and pulled up the online order app. “We don’t get a lot of home cooked meals where we go.”

Taking a step back, I watched as he made his way over, did the right thing and waited for her to gesture for him to sit, not that she did so willingly because I knew Jai had asked her to  _ be kind _ at least, but still, it was nice to see she didn’t automatically pull out her blade.

“Jai and Stiles were talking food the other night, diners mostly,” Scott pulled one leg up, wrapped his arms around his knees and bit down on his lip, “she’s a big fan, but what about you?”

“You want to talk about food?” She seemed a little unsure.

“Maybe to start. I know we don’t see eye to eye, but I thought maybe we could find a common place to start.”

She drew in a deep breath, “fine. Yes, diners are really great places to eat.”

And that started a quiet conversation between them as I ordered, knowing exactly what both the other werewolves in the house preferred and headed for the kitchen, glancing at Peter as I started finding dishes.

“She’s not going to disappear.” I said quietly, not making eye contact with him.

“She’s talking to Sam,” he informed me, but wouldn’t clarify on the topic. “You know you can’t keep her, she’s involved with two others.”

“I don’t want to, not like that,” I reached out, placed my hands on the counter and braced for what Peter needed to get off his chest.

“Come on, Derek, you can’t fool someone who lives with you. I’ve watched you grow up and except for the years I was in a coma, and the ones where you were out trying to find Kate, I’ve been witness to everything you’ve ever done. I know when you’ve grown emotionally attached.” Peter leaned in closer, “and you are  _ attached _ .”

The door opened upstairs and both of us turned to watch Jai make her way out of Peter’s room and down the spiral staircase, placing her hand on his shoulder as she slipped by and disappeared again, this time down the hall towards the bathroom.

I scoffed, the only way to describe the sound that left my mouth as I observed the way he looked at her, before I went back to doing what it had been. “I’m not the only one attached.”

Peter just rolled his eyes like he was two and huffed out the word “obviously.”

When the alarmed blared that the pizza had arrived and before Scott could finish complaining that he had been asked to run down and get it, Jai bolted out the door. I heard her jump on the elevator and head down, something I was surprised at, since she hated the machine, before I had even gotten a chance to turn off the alarm.

Gwen stretched when she stood, her time with Scott was clearly done, and that was her putting a close to it, then turned and she headed towards the door to slide it open just as Jai came to an abrupt halt with the whole bag, not just the pizza boxes.

“How many more hot bags do we need?” Gwen questioned as the two of them made their way from the door to the island in the kitchen but Jai only wore a smile.

“This is the only one, I returned the rest of them, besides for a thirty dollar tip, this kid wasn’t complaining when I said I’d bring it back.” She announced as she slipped everything from it in one expert move.

“You steal hot bags?” I grinned but saw the way her expression turn confused, as if to ask me  _ who doesn’t _ ? I was just about to take it seriously, to apologize but I was getting to know that little glint in her eyes. ”Or do you steal delivery men?”

That threw her, and I watched the way she forced a smile to stay off her lips, but it was Peter’s low rumble beside me as he moved to grab something to drink that brought the smile back for me. 

“I’ve been known to,” she cleared her throat, “use my feminine wiles on a delivery guy or two.”

“Try six.” Gwen grinned around the slice of pizza in her hand, the wrapped grinder she ordered tucked securely against her as she glanced at her partner.

“Okay, six.” Jai nodded, searching the bag for her order before she let out an “ah-ha!” and pulled it from the bag, glancing up at me. “But that was years ago.”

“Last month,” Gwen mumbled as she unwrapped the sandwich and Jai really did  _ hmmph _ this time.

“Do you mind?”

“No, not at all, thanks for asking.”

“Eat your damn sandwich.”

“That was the plan.”

And here we go again. I didn’t hold back, the grin wide enough on my face to make my cheeks hurt as I watched them. They didn’t miss a beat, never even bothered to look up at each other as they continued the banter, until Jai happened to look up at me. I saw the way her smile faded and she took on a confused expression but it was when she tapped Gwen on the arm that had me. Gwen glanced at her, then followed her eyeline right to me, but that didn’t stop the smile as I switched between the two of them. 

“What?”

“Gorgeous,” Jai whispered, and I saw Scott roll his eyes as he walked behind her. “You should smile more often.”

“Really, that’s what you two are so shocked over?”

“Apparently, it’s not everyday they see a man smile, especially when the two of them are involved,” Peter spoke up from behind me as he approached the counter.

“Fuck you, Peter,” Jai snipped, her eyes leaving mine for that one second to make sure he knew she was kidding, giving him a wink.

“Gladly,” was his only response and Scott plunked himself on the barstool between them, cutting Jai off from her glaring, but as she went back to her food, I found Gwen still looking at me.

“You okay?” I whispered then, not breaking the light conversation that had started up between Scott and Jai, but she caught it and nodded before going back to her sandwich. 

“Naples,” was the only thing I caught from Jai as I focused back in on the two of them, and apparently the conversation had been about the best pizza they’ve ever had. “Chicago just has the best deep dish, but that’s my opinion.”

“Have you ever been to Naples?” Peter questioned, his love of all things Europe was definitely piqued by this.

“She hates to fly.” I added when I finally caught up.

“Doesn’t stop me but yeah, would rather drive.” Jai sat back on the stool, shrugging, “we’ve tried to hit the island a couple times, helping out a few hunters over there, never panned out. Ms. Cryptozoologist here keeps them stamping my passport, but not Italy, not yet. Though, have you ever been to Greenland? Fantastic place. If you’re ever in  Ilulissat, stop at Inuit Cafe, best damn coffee you will ever have.”

“Why would you go to Greenland, you are always cold?” Peter spoke up, and that got me to look between them. How much had I missed about their connection? He knew things that none of us heard them ever discuss, but Jai just sighed. 

“Listen, for a great cup of coffee, I will deal with a high of fifty-two in the summer,” she smirked at him. “We were up there hunting a,” she turned to Gwen, “what was it?”

“That was before Baraboo, you want me to remember that?” Gwen grumbled as she went back to her sandwich and Jai rolled her eyes. “Something stupid that turned out wasn’t even a thing.”

“Right, I forgot.” She unwrapped her sandwich, but didn’t move to eat it. “Anyway, we’ve been overseas a few times.”

“If you were over there, is that how you know about the signatures?” Scott asked, but he was oddly gentle about it, only turning a bit in his seat to face her. I watched as she looked down at her food, but gave him a small nod. “So, how do we narrow it down?”

“Scott,” I knew he was in a hurry but she hadn’t even touched her food, and that bothered me. She was the one  _ starving _ but she just pushed the sandwich away. Gwen tapped her on the arm, getting her attention as she pointed to the food, but there was some sort of quiet communication between them before Jai got up and moved away. I glared at him until he looked in my direction. “I know you want to get moving on this, but relax.”

“I’m just asking a question.”

“It’s not a process to push.”

“It’s also not getting us anywhere. You saw the fourth victim, I know you did because Stiles sent it even when I told him not to, so I need to know if there’s anything else, some sort of clue.”

A paper was dropped on the table in front of him, getting all eyes to fall on Jai as she scooted back on the seat and grabbed part of the sandwich. “Signatures are like scents, wolves have specific ones, so do vamps, like I said before. This one was fairies.”

“Fairies?” Scott looked between them before looking up at me. “Those are real?”

“And not always as nice as Tinker Bell,” Gwen replied, getting a chuckle out of Peter. She took the paper Jai dropped and looked it over, nodding. “So, the new information we received put us somewhere in Scottish and Irish lore, which makes sense if we take in account the history of the pack, and the Nemeton. It’s a beacon, sure, but it seems to attract things within your history as well. ”

Jai was quiet, finally digging into her food, and Peter slowly made his way over to place himself just to her right, acting as if he were reading over Gwen’s shoulder, but I could see the way he connected to Jai, the press of his body somewhere along the back of hers. And he called me attached, I’ve never seen Peter so taken with someone.

“We narrowed it down to four possible ones, but that’s not even the half of the list, just the ones that may or may not fit the bill.” Gwen slid the paper to Scott, ignoring the woman in the middle, but glanced up when Peter took the paper before it reached the alpha.

“A Dearg-due?” He sighed. “Female demon that seduces men, blah, blah, blah…” he looked up, eyes locked on Gwen. “One of the victims was a woman.”

“It’s 2020, maybe it’s sexual preferences have changed,” Jai answered for her, turning her head just a bit to raise a brow, “changing with the times, my friend, not all guys are into women, so you have to adapt.”

“Yes, but it says it drains their blood, so this is more of a vampire than a fairy and you said there wasn’t a vampire signature.” 

“But  _ again _ , changing of the times,” she dropped her sandwich, wiped her hand and yanked the paper from Peter’s, glaring up at him. “Not everything is about the blood. I mean, sure, it says it but the lore book on it is nearly a century old. Adapt and overcome, right?”

“What’s this next one?” Scott slowly slipped the paper away, reading it over, “a Pooka?”

“Trickster fairy,” I spoke up, knowing this one, “appears at night, has mastered human speech to call it’s victims out, but it’s a shifter, would probably have left a signature more like us than of a fairy, besides, it’s shape is a Boogy Man, mostly. Not sure it would lure people in with that face, or a bracelet.”

Jai glared up at me, which I could only respond to with a wink before she shook her head and went back to eating. Gwen had her hand on the paper this time, yanking it away to scratch that one out with a pen.

“Now that I’ve heard it out loud, that is definitely not our one.” She looked down the list, sighing, making notes before extending my arm, holding it out to her. I saw her try to be annoyed before she handed it over.

“Draugr, Icelandic undead beings generally categorized as ghosts or vampires?” I read from the paper but looked up to find the two girls pointing at each other without even glancing as if they knew what I was going to ask next. “How are we getting further away from fairies and more towards vampire mythology?”

Gwen wiggled her pointed finger at Jai. “She has a thing for them, and ghosts.”

“And you have a thing for black, fluffy, puppy werewolves, but no one judges you!” I had to hold back a laugh on that but Gwen sat up, wide eyes, even if Jai hadn’t given her a second glance, at least not until she sighed and straightened. “Ever seen Harry Potter, they’re like Dementors, sucking the life force out of people, the only difference is a chocolate bar isn’t going to help get your sugar up on this one. The Draugr will literally drain you until you’re dead. We just haven’t figured out if mummification is part of their processes.”

“Why not?” It was a legitimate question from the alpha beside her and Jai did her best to keep her cool, but I could see her slowly losing it. 

“There hasn’t been a Draugr attack like this in decades, so no actual evidence to go by.” She slipped down from her seat, took the sandwich and made her way over to the board, where she sat down and quietly studied it. 

“What just happened?” 

“Just give her a bit, she gets cranky when she’s hungry.” Gwen grumbled, glancing up at me before she turned that look to her partner. There was something else, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it. “The last one is a Mara.”

“Sounds like a night hag,” I whispered as I read over the description. “Brings on bad dreams or nightmares as they sit on the victim’s chest while they sleep, draining the life force from the body.”

“Isn’t a Mara Scandinavian?” Peter questioned, moving to the bar to fill a rocks glass. I nodded without looking up. “So how are any of these from our mythology?”

“Like we said, these aren’t even half of the ones on the list, they’re just the ones that fit the bill right now.” Gwen wiped her hands, got up and disappeared down the hallway, a motion that caught Jai’s attention for a second before the woman went back to whatever she was doing as she focused on the board.

I leaned down to Scott, getting close enough to get the alpha’s eyes and watched as he shifted in his seat. “This isn’t going to be a simple  _ what is it _ , Scott, you need to be patient.”

“I am patient, I’m just,” he drew in a breath, “on edge. Stiles is working the festival tonight and with the way the fourth one was found…”

“I get it.” I placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed. “Maybe we should check on him.”

“No, it’s almost done and I think we already have someone checking in.” We both looked up, watched as Jai took the phone from her pocket and typed out a text, before going back to the board. “They’ve been at it all night.”

“Okay.” I patted him on twice before letting him go. “At least we know he’s keeping up with someone.” I watched the way his brow furrowed and smirked, rolling my eyes. “Are you jealous?”

“What are they texting so much about?” He exhaled loudly, catching her attention, but it was quick and she looked away, tilting her head just a bit before typing again.

“Looks like the case,” I slipped into Jai’s vacant seat and glared at him. “She’s not taking him.”

“I know, but there’s just something…” Scott finally broke away from her and turned to me. “Stiles likes people who can keep up with his brain, right? So, how is she doing it? How are they doing it? Keeping up with Stiles, I mean? The only other person was Lydia.”

“They’re smart, no matter what they show on the outside. Gwen’s been to Harvard, she’s studied at the Smithsonian, and that’s only what she’s told us, we don’t know anything of Jai’s education or of how her mind works. This is how they get it done, so, let them do it.”

“Stiles?” Jai whispered, as she put the phone to her ear. It hadn’t even gone off, that’s how quick she was to answer, but she stood and moved back towards the stairs, heading up to Peter’s room again before she shut the door. 

That got the two of us curious. “Stiles never calls.”

“Well, he’s calling now.” Scott got up from the table, moved towards the staircase but was stopped by Peter, who found himself a spot on the stairs again. He shook his head slowly, getting the alpha to threaten but Peter just tapped his ear, refusing to move. I saw the moment Scott took a breath, then closed his eyes and listened.

It didn’t take long for the door to open again and Jai to walk out, phone slipping into her pocket, but she looked down at the two men that hovered around the bottom of the stairs and rolled her eyes as she stopped behind Peter and placed a hand gently on his head, scratching her fingers in his hair. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen anyone do to him.

“If you have to know, he was giving me information, something his dad let him in on,” her eyes were focused on Scott’s, “but you heard that, didn’t you?” She stepped around Peter, eyes still on the alpha. “Next time you want to listen in on my conversation, tell me. You’re worried about Stiles, I get it, but private calls are just that. If I wanted you to know anything, I would have stayed down here.”

“So, if it was something Noah said, how come it was private?” While he had a point, he was pushing his luck and I crossed my arms, moving into position to pull him away should she pull her blade, which is why I thought she might be keeping her fingers busy with Peter, not that he seemed to mind. 

“It was a personal matter, nothing to do with the case.” She shrugged at him, let Peter go and calmly walked by, but she made a point to reach out and touch my arm, running fingers over my forearm before she tapped my hand and moved back to the board.

“Okay, well, I’m going to go.” Scott was irritated, there was no denying it, but I had a feeling he was going right to Stiles, and not home or on patrol. Jai just nodded, not bothering to look up, Peter looked disinterested. He stopped at me, glared for a minute, and then sighed. “Keep an eye on them.”

“You know I will,” was my only reply and with a nod, he walked out, getting me to turn towards Jai.

“So, what’s the personal matter?”

Jai cocked a brow as she shook her head. “Like I said, Hale, it’s  _ personal _ , which means to a person, being me, being none of your business.”

Peter smirked, but turned so she didn’t see it, just as Gwen walked out of the bathroom, and up to stand beside me. 

“What’s going on? Where’d Scott go?”

“He left,” Jai grumbled.

“Stiles called, didn’t he?” How the hell did she know that? Jai gave a slight nod, “and you didn’t tell him?”

“Personal, G!” Jai shook her head and crossed her legs as she let her head tip back focused on the board. 

Gwen reached out, took my hand, and gently led me towards the balcony door, a place I knew Jai wouldn’t venture to, but I could smell the hint of anxiety coming from her so I followed without question.

She stopped near the wall, placed her hands on it and looked over the town, though with thirty-thousand people in Beacon Hills it made it feel more like a city sometimes, and the fact that the Preserve surrounded it only made it all inclusive, but it was beautiful and I moved up to stand beside her, a hand on the small of her back.

“So, you and Scott?” I smiled, knowing it would get a rise out of her.

“How can he be an alpha and be so damn infuriating?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she glanced back at Jai, who we could see through the windows and shook her head. “Never mind, don’t answer that. Try, how the hell does he lead anything when he’s like a little kid, whining about how he’s not getting his way?”

“Did you patch things up at least?” 

She huffed at me. “I’m not going to kill him if that’s what you’re asking. A territory without an alpha is a bad thing, but I can’t guarantee that I won’t maim him.”

“That’s good enough for me.” I watched the way her eyes focused before she turned to me suddenly and sighed.

“Tell me something, and be honest, why did the Hales settle here? Why build a town around a tree?”

“My family wanted a safe place for shifters like me. We knew the Nemeton could protect us, and since it was a beacon anyway, why not protect it?”

“And then cut it down?”

“That wasn’t our choice. It was…” I closed my eyes because I didn’t remember the reason specifically, just that there was something wrong with it. “It was after the war, when everyone came home, when the internment camps were disassembled. Something happened to it and it started dying. From what I understood, the only way to stop it from affecting the area was to cut out that dark part.”

“What happened to the tree?”

“You’ve heard of mountain ash, right?”

“So all these buildings? Deaton’s place, Melissa’s house?” I looked at her a little confused, but she waved it off. “Scott told me, it was part of our conversation. All of these places have mountain ash from the Nemeton?”

“Not all, actually. A lot of our wood and ash come from your side of the country, New England.”

“Oh, good, first Argent hunters, then dementor fairies, now I find out you’ve been harvesting our trees, and yet, we’re just finding out that your kind of werewolves existed. That’s perfect.”

“Hey, it just means we get to come out and visit now that we know you’re on some prime real estate.” I turned her, put my hands on her hips and watched as she bit her lip, thinking it over and her hands came up to rest on my chest.

“You have a point.” 

That was when my cell rang, or more like vibrated. No one should be texting me, let alone calling and I dug it out to look at the screen before I turned my eyes to the woman inside the building who was staring at her phone in shock.

I brought the phone to my ear and drew in a breath. “Stiles?”


	13. Gwen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! We've done it again. We've come to the end of another wild ride with Jai and Gwen. There's a small epilogue after this, but we wanted to thank you all for coming along on this one. I know it's different, with mentions of Sam and Dean, and a whole new fandom coming in, but it's always fun to meet new people.  
> On that note... I'm off to post the epilogue.  
> <3

**Gwen**

I was half awake when I stepped into the kitchen, having managed to not fall down the twisting iron stairs as I looked to the body that leaned on the kitchen counter. She was dressed in a baggy tee-shirt, not one of her own, some sleep shorts, and by the look on her face, she had slept for shit but that wasn’t what got me. It was the way Peter stopped by the coffee machine and took a long breath in through his nose, turning quickly to her.

He was staring at her back, eyes green with jealousy and he rolled his neck as his hands clenched. Oh, I could see this coming a mile away.

She was leaning over, coffee mug in hand, elbows on the counter as her foot was braced against her shin and she looked as though she was ready to fall asleep.

“Why do you smell like him?” The way Peter’s voice went low and lusty nearly had me laughing my ass off, but she only cocked a brow and turned in his direction. “Why do you smell like Stiles?”

“I told you last night,” was all she replied, but Peter stepped closer, right up behind her. She didn’t flinch when his nose went right to the side of her neck, scenting her again, and with a hmmph, he stepped back and shook his head. “See, nothing happened.”

“That doesn’t explain…” he growled, actually growled when Stiles stepped into the room, bare chested and annoyed.

“Where the hell is my shirt?” And that explained the clothes she was wearing. Peter stepped over, grabbed the hem as she straightened and stripped the ratty shirt from her body. Stiles’ eyes went wide as Jai and Peter stared at each other, not flinching when Peter tossed the shirt in his direction. Jai stood there in her sports bra, fists clenched as Peter suddenly yanked off his tank to hand to her. “What is going on?” That was when I was noticed and sighed... Jai hadn’t explained a thing. “Gwen, care to explain because this is getting a little weird.”

“She has to smell like you.” I shrugged as I moved to turn on the pot just as Jai lifted a hand and pushed the offered shirt back at the older wolf. “That’s the reason…”

“Why she cuddled up to me last night?” Stiles mumbled to himself, his eyes on the floor before nodding, he caught on quick for one of the younger members of the pack. “To fool the Leannán Sí?”

“Actually.” I rolled my eyes, knowing Jai’s tone of voice and watched as she turned to Stiles, who shyly took in her state of undress. “That was the main reason, but I admit I kinda liked it.” Stiles huffed and went for the coffee, ignoring the fact that Peter was still staring down at her, for a moment anyway, before she turned to him. “Peter, relax, when this is all done, you can do whatever…” She paused, narrowed her eyes at him, and smiled, as he took a deep breath. “Hold that thought.”

I shook my head, because it was going to be one of those mornings, and watched as she raced up the stairs, passing Derek on his way down. He glanced back quickly before catching my eye as he moved towards the coffee, his brows furrowed.

“Why does she smell like Stiles?” 

“It’s part of the plan,” Peter snipped, eyes still on the stairway.

“Might work,” was the only thing Derek mumbled as he came to stand beside me when I finally sat down at the bar. Jai came trotting back down the stairs, one of her plaids loose around her, buttoned only enough to cover the sports bra but at least she wasn’t parading around the house half-naked anymore. “Is Scott meeting us there?”

“Can I get through a pot of coffee before the questions start?” Jai grumbled, her normal morning tone as she went back to the cup she left on the counter, but I could have counted off the second from when she lifted and rested it against her lips to her reaction. “GAH!” The face she pulled only had me rolling my eyes when she turned towards the pot. “That’s gross.”

“You barely left it.” Stiles was unusual for a young man with such a high IQ. “Why is it gross?”

“It’s cold.” 

“I can still see the steam.” 

And that was where I tuned out the conversation, picked up my own cup and headed towards the table where I had organized everything I would need for what we had to accomplish that morning. Scott was meeting us here, in fact he was supposed to show up soon, so the issue of none of us being dressed and ready was only going to incite the alpha’s long-winded bitch sessions and Jai was right, I needed more than that before the questions started.

Jai cleared her throat, standing beside me with a coffee cup in hand and a small smirk on her face as she put her back to the table and leaned on it.

“It’s almost over,” she sighed, but that wasn’t her  _ thank Gods, this case is almost finished  _ face _. _ That was…

“You’re worried.” I stood straight, cocked my head at her and watched as she wrapped her free arm around her waist. 

“Gotta say this isn’t the most absolute I’ve felt about a plan, so yeah, just a little bit.” Her eyes went to her cup before coming up to meet mine. “You just stay safe, make sure these guys get out, and take care of it when the opportunity presents itself.”

“You say it like you’re not making it home.” I know I growled, because while she usually had more optimism about things she helped come up with, the feeling of uncertainty that came off her was palpable. I gave her a minute shake of my head, wanting to just let in on her but I didn’t, I let my gaze fall on the three men waking up at the counter. “You’ll be fine, you have a get out of jail free card.”

“But you don’t, at least not one that you can easily access,” she turned to me, set the mug down and puffed up like she was the largest person here, even though it was something completely different. “Listen, you don’t want to go there and I don’t want you to, so do me a favor and put your angel on speed-dial in case this thing goes south. Which it will, it always does, but I don’t need you following me down, Gwen, I don’t.”

“You know,” I scoffed because this was a long time coming, “I don’t need you to protect me. I don’t need you to put me on a shelf to keep the bad guys away. I’m not porcelain, I’m not going to break.”

“You don’t think I know that?” She laughed at me, crossed both arms this time and paused, which was weird to see because usually her rants were well planned with very few breaths between hearing herself speak. “I know, okay? I know you can hold your own, I know you’re a badass, and this whole alpha… beta… what the fuck ever… it doesn’t matter, you do. So, just do this one thing for me, okay?” She reached out, and there was that tactile need that she had, something that was few and far between, resting her hand on my arm. “The world can’t lose you.”

She turned and walked away, heading right for the stairs before she disappeared out of sight. Just as Derek moved towards me, wondering what was going on, there was a knock at the door which had him switching tracks, and when it slid open, Scott stood there out of breath and wide-eyed.

“What happened?” Stiles moved towards him, shoving Derek aside as he caught his friend just as Scott seemed to collapse in his arms. I stepped closer as the two of them brought the alpha to the couch, checking him over, but there wasn’t anything outwardly wrong with him. “Scott, what happened?”

He flashed red eyes at the deputy, but they were barely there, just noticeable enough to show a change. Peter leaned over the back of the couch. “What happened to your eyes?”

“I was in the woods doing patrol,” Scott shifted, but it was slow and looked like it was painful for him. Stiles placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in against the couch. “There was this woman on the trail, she was…” 

“Beautiful? Supermodel gorgeous? Hotter than Lydia when she wears those black, strappy heels?” Stiles offered, which only got a scoff from Peter. “What? It’s true.”

“I don’t know what black heels have to do with anything, but I think we get your point.” I sat down on the coffee table, let my fingers wrap around the bruises that were still fading on his wrist and turned his hand palm up. “She drew from you.”

“Is that why it’s taking him so long to heal?” Stiles was in a little bit of a panic, but he didn’t leave Scott’s side, at least not until Jai moved up behind the couch, dressed and ready to go. “We need to go, now.”

“Hold your horses, Cowboy,” and leave it to Jai to make little comments that would just annoy the kid. She rounded the couch, squatted down in front of me, and let her fingers run down over Scott’s wrist, before making eye contact with the alpha, and something happened, some sort of reaction to her touch, because he sucked in a breath and shivered. “Hmm, you know,” she winked at him, “if you wanted my attention, all you had to do was ask.”

“This isn’t about you,” Stiles barked, which had both of us looking up. “Stop flirting, stop brushing this off! This is serious! Do you take anything seriously? It’s not a joke, Jai?”

She raised a brow and looked back at me, but all I could do was frown. She wasn’t flirting, she was distracting, observing the same thing I was, but with a power no one else had. She was tracking it by its magic. Unfortunately, I agreed with him. This wasn’t a joke anymore, this was something we needed to deal with and fast, and I gave her a slight nod.

“Okay,” and that word was low, barely audible before she blinked up at Stiles. “Let’s go.”

“What about Scott?” Peter straightened as Jai did, all eyes following her as she moved to grab the bag, but again, she was looking at me. 

“Stick to the plan.”

Now that I saw Scott, I was tempted to tell her we were scrapping the plan and going with a new one, but the determination in her eyes was not something you argued with. “Fine.”

And then she was gone. 

I stood, moved over towards the table, grabbing a pouch from the edge, right where I had left it the night before after they had all gone to bed. It was filled with ash, mistletoe, and just a bit of crushed huckleberry, which didn't take much to accomplish since we were able to find the berries close to the house.

“What the hell was that?” Stiles snapped again. He was on edge, you didn’t need to be a werewolf or have heightened senses to figure out just how much it bothered him that his friend was laying there hurt. As I walked back to him, though, his eyes were locked on the door, that was until he whipped around to look at me. “Gwen, please, what is going on?”

“Jai’s tracking it.” I moved into the kitchen, pulled down a bowl, grabbed a large spoon from the drawer and drew the small honey bear bottle close. Derek stepped up beside me when I turned towards the island to let them all see what I was doing. Adding the powder from the pouch, and an abundant amount of the honey, I mixed it all together before looking up at the eyes that were on me. “Just like she showed Scott, these things leave a signature. While your eyes can pick it up with the right amount of energy left behind, she can follow its power.”

“She can sense it,” Peter whispered, his eyes lowered to the floor as he processed it, “she can track it, and she can use it.”

“All very true,” I moved towards the couch with the bowl and got comfortable on the floor next to Scott, resting his bruised wrist against the cushion so that the worst part was exposed, the part she drew from. “I’m sorry, but this is going to be a bit unpleasant.”

“Is that…” Derek reached out, thought of snatching the bowl away and then retracted his hand. “How bad?”

“Mildly so.” I took the back of the spoon, scooped up some of the balm and spread it over his wrist. It was nearly instantaneous, as he cried out and arched off the couch. “Hold him down. He can’t wipe it off.”

Derek and Peter braced his shoulders as Stiles grabbed his legs but it was the red eyes of the alpha that were set on me as he growled low. But I didn’t move, I just watched… watched the way the red grew brighter the more he screamed.

~~~~~

We tracked Jai to the clearing where the demon door had been but while the wolves used their noses, I relied on the fact that she had turned the _Find_ _my iPhone_ setting on just for this occasion. It was there that we found her using a thick branch to draw a sigil in the ground. 

She stopped in front of me, grinning and out of breath, glanced at Scott and Stiles, who were glaring with narrow eyes and she shrugged.

“Okay, let’s do this.” She kicked at the bag by my foot. “Everything is in there, make sure he does exactly what you tell him.” Her eyes strayed to Stiles before she turned directly to Scott. “You ready for this, Alpha?”

“I don't even know what you’re doing?” Scott actually growled, which caught Peter and Derek’s attention as the men patrolled the outskirts of the clearing.

“I'm trying to help save your pack.” With that, she caught my eye once more and headed back to finish her circle. 

“She’s so damn aggravating” Scott barked, turned and moved off to find Derek, but Stiles wouldn’t leave my side.

“What did she mean?” He squatted down beside me as I unzipped the bag and shuffled a couple things around until I found what I was looking for. Pulling out a bundle, Stiles’ look of confusion turned even more so if that was possible. “What the hell is that?”

“Something only you can do.” As I held it out, he slowly opened his hand for the offering. “When I say, and only when I say, you need to take this and throw it at the fae.”

“Yeah, sure, I can do that.” 

But that was when I grabbed his hands, which instantly had him stiffen, palms wrapped around the covered glass jar. “Listen to me, Stiles, there words you have to say, words that I’m going to teach you but you have to swear to never use them again.”

“You sound like Jai and her weird rules.”

“Where do you think I got the words from?” He glanced behind me and I knew just who he was looking at before he nodded and pulled his hands free, wrapped bundle tucked tightly in them. “Now, we have to bind this circle.”

“I got it.” Jai waved off, but when I turned to see her, she was kneeling in the center of it, her eyes though, even with her nonchalant behavior were full of fear. I let go of Stiles, and moved to kneel in front of her. The world these men created fell away and it was just us again, just the two of us, as always. I knelt down in front of her, looking to the evidence bag she had placed Stiles’ bracelet in, just before making eye contact with her again. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done this.”

“Sat in some creepy, wooded clearing?” I snarked, and she scoffed, a normal reaction.

“Fought something we knew nothing about, took on the darkness for someone,” her eyes flitted to the four men that surrounded the circle, all doing something besides looking. “For someone we knew. The last time was…”

“Portland.” I agreed, and reached for the bag.

“Aliens, man, even if it was from some place just like here.” She was trying to keep it at bay, a tactic that she failed at when it came to me. With a deep breath, her eyes were locked on the way my fingers slipped into the bag. “Just… make sure you keep them safe.”

“You first.” I pulled it from the plastic and held it up by the tip of my fingers. “Words.”

She closed her eyes, grabbed the hell blade from the ground and pricked her finger. The scent of blood caught the attention of the others but they knew better than to cross the barrier. I listened to her whisper the spell out, and it wasn’t that I didn’t know what she was saying, I had been learning the Iberian language right alongside her, it's just that she said it so low no one could make it out. 

But you could feel it.

Her head dropped forward and her body swayed as the words came to an abrupt halt. The last few days had drained her, taken most of her magic, and this apparently was the last straw. She was weak, and this was a bad idea, but as she lifted her head, her blue eyes locked on mine and she nodded.

Opening the bag seemed to send off a signal, making the area vibrate with energy and what she had done to switch it over to work on her tipped the scales. Stiles was safe but Jai was not. I held it out between my fingers, and all she had to do was slip her hand through, something she did slowly, before it snapped onto her wrist.

Nothing happened.

“Okay,” she nodded to me. “Go, seal it.”

“I thought you already did.”

“If I did, you shouldn’t have gotten through. Make sure the bitch is inside and then slam the door shut. Have Stiles do his job and let’s get this done.” Her hands wrapped around the handle of her blade, more of a safety blanket then something that might actually do damage to the fae.

“That’s not going to work on her.” I pointed out, not to be a bitch, but to make sure I had her attention because I could see it fading in her eyes.

“I’m well aware of that.” She sat back on her heels, head tilted back to look at the sky and I saw the blackness flicker in her eyes. “Go, G, go now.”

I patted her on the shoulder, stood and made my way back to the edge of the circle, just as Scott stepped up to the line.

“Get her out.” He growled at me, like I was one of his little wolves, and shook my head. “Can’t you feel that? Can’t you feel what it’s already doing to her?”

I stepped up to him, looking down the four inches into his eyes and I let what I thought might be a sufficient growl rumble in my throat. It must have been enough because his eyes flared red in response.

“You have no clue what’s going on, don’t tell me how to do my job.” It was the only answer I could give him. Yes, we should have stopped it, yes, we should have gotten her out, but it was an unspoken agreement that we wouldn’t let each other die, not that we would stop the other from doing their job. “Stay back.”

I moved away from him, grabbed the bag on the ground, and yanked a book from it. Jai’s book, one of old Iberian spell and sigils that Bobby had given her not that long ago, and made my way towards the circle. Flipping to the marked page, I crouched by the line and whispered what was written there.

Jai clenched her teeth, and I knew the moment the bracelet activated. She screamed, doubled over onto herself, left hand clenching her right wrist, and her murky black eyes settled on me. Peter ran for the line, only to be held back by Derek and Stiles rushed it, just to have Scott wrap his arms around his waist to stop him, but she was looking at  _ me. _

_ “Non sciunt quid faciunt.”  _ I wasn’t sure why I was hearing her voice in my head, not even sure why it was in Latin, but yes, I knew what to do.  _ “Hunc consummare.” _

Finish this? Not finish  _ it. _ Maybe I didn’t know exactly what she was planning, but in the next second, before the line was complete, Jai screamed again, her body glowing, the dark circles under her eyes growing.

And in a bright flash of light, a woman stood in the circle with her. She was supermodel skinny, beautiful, with long flowing blonde hair, and if Jai was in her right mind, and maybe if this woman wasn’t a monster, I would be hearing all about how much she  _ might _ be her type… if she was a red-head.

Jai let her eyes fall on the monster before her, hands at her side, breathing heavy but through her nose as her whole body swayed. “‘Bout time you showed up.”

“You’re not Stiles.” And I kept my comment to myself but glanced at the human hiding behind Scott, before letting my eyes fall on Derek. We needed to keep Stiles safe. “But you smell just like him.”

“Perks of cuddling up to the man, definitely a pleasure.”  _ Oh, my Gods _ ! She needed to stop egging on the bad guy. “He smells fantastic, doesn’t he? Good enough to eat.” She blinked lazily up at the woman, the blackness still in her eyes. “Oh, wait, that’s what you intended to do. Sorry to ruin your meal.”

“That’s quite alright,” she squatted down in front of Jai, whose gaze went to me for just a second and back. “You’ll do just fine.”

“Yeah,” her smile did nothing to hide the intent inside, her other half, “I think you might be in for a surprise?”

“Jai,” I warned, but she lifted her hand to wave me off.

Peter growled next to me, seeing as he and Derek had moved closer. “She’s going to get herself killed.”

“That monster should be so lucky.” I huffed, not that I wanted her to die, but Jai was as stubborn as they got, and wouldn’t give the fae the satisfaction, but Peter just gave me a look of frustration. “It’s almost time.”

Jai made an audible choking noise when the thing wrapped her hands around her throat, lifting her to her feet, but I could see the small smile on her lips. It was going exactly the way she wanted it to, until it wasn’t.

Her eyes slipped closed for a moment before she opened them, her arms limp at her side, and her face started to turn red. Stiles panicked, and it wasn’t unwarranted, something was wrong. I reached into my belt for the fae knives, four at one side, four at the other with the Hales holding two each, and flipped one in my hand, tip to fingers before I let it fly. 

It lodged deep into the shoulder of the fae, getting her to drop Jai quickly. That was the moment I stepped into the circle. Jai dropped back to her knees, hands on her throat, coughing to catch her breath. Peter crouched by the line, knowing he wasn’t going to get past it, eyes on her only.

The fae turned, gaze on me as I slipped another blade from the belt. She glared at it, like she had seen it before, and I watched with weird fascination as her fingers grew into claws, not just her nails like the werewolves that surrounded us, but her fingers themselves.

“Gwen, get out of there.” Scott’s voice deepened, the order clear, and my body shook trying to obey at the same time I stood my ground. His alpha voice pointedly directed at me was completely different than any other time I had heard it, but it wouldn’t work.

She didn’t say anything, just swiped out with her claws, which kept me at an arm’s length, ducking and weaving around Jai, who was crawling towards the edge of the circle. The fae moved, flashing from one side, where she had been fighting me, right to Jai, who she grabbed by the hair, yanking her to her feet. 

All of the fight went out of her, her blue eyes locked on mine when the fae turned her to face me. She looked exhausted, as the bruises around her neck started to purple, and she could barely keep her eyes open. But she did one thing, one weird move that got me curious. Jai winked. She winked and then flicked out her hand.

Behind the fae, oblivious to the goings-on around her, Peter drew a blade from his belt and tossed it with perfect precision right at her. Jai managed to turn her head, just a bit to see it coming and while it landed blade in against her palm, she was still able to snatch it out of the air - blood dripping from the wound - flip it and bury it in the side of the fae before she had a second to know what was going on.

The fae dropped her again, giving Jai a second to scurry away and land towards the other end of the circle, this time her sight was locked on the monster. 

Yanking the blade from her stomach, the blonde moved at her with purpose, claws up like she was going to swing, but the roar of an alpha distracted her long enough for Jai to get to her feet. The fae turned, and I glanced over to see Scott standing in the circle, unaffected by the barrier, but Jai dropped, hand above the line she had drawn herself and let it slam down on top of it.

“ _ Stiles, now! _ ” She screamed and all four of us saw him raise the bundle above his head and let it come crashing down along the line. The magic the mixture of mountain ash, mistletoe, and huckleberry made combined with the power infused into the circle created a blast of light, one bright enough to blind, but lasting long enough for Scott to rush at Jai, who barely got to her feet, and push her from the circle. From where she landed hard on the ground, I found her wide-eyed and panicked. “No!”

That was it, we were sealed in. Scott and I against the fae, and that was just the way I wanted it. He shifted, eyes bright red and claws out and when we both were satisfied that Jai was safely in the arms of Peter, and Stiles was defended by Derek, our world shrunk to just the fae, and finally getting rid of the problem.

She was prepared for whatever we threw at her, knives, claws, anything, and it went on for longer than I wanted before it hit me and I glanced at Peter. Jai was fading, and quickly, eyes closed, body relaxed against the man as if what was going on here was just a show she could ignore. That wasn’t her, that wasn’t natural.

“Peter!” I screamed above the wail of the woman Scott was now taking on alone as I moved to the edge of the circle. “Take the bracelet off.”

“What?” And while he questioned, he was moving, bringing her hand up gently, and he tried to move the bracelet, but the second he did, she howled in pain. 

His eyes went right to mine, unsure of what to do, before both of us looked at the way Scott was holding his ground. I heard a faint  _ ‘I’m sorry, love’ _ before she cried out. When I looked back at him, the bracelet was between his claws, blood dripped from her wrist as she pressed her face to his chest and he tossed the damn thing away.

That was the moment Scott got the upper hand. 

I turned back to the fight, got right in the thick of it and pushed the alpha away. This thing wasn’t going to be another werewolf victory. No, this one was mine. I slashed out with the blade, slipped another one from my belt and went after her with both. She got in her hits, claws leaving slashes on my skin, but I wasn’t letting her go. 

Until that final moment, that one slash, as I brought my arm up in an arch and felt the catch, the slide and then the release of it going through her skin. I stared wide-eyed, catching my breath as the blood leaked from her. The slit across her throat was deep enough to sever the artery but still she stood glaring at me with so much power. Her arm reached out, claws ready to attack, until her eyes went wide.

She stilled for a moment before she fell forward, face planting in the grass. In her back was one of the fae blades and behind her, heaving his way through to control his breath, was Scott. He looked past me, right at Stiles.

“Break the circle!” It was full of panic and if I didn’t see him turn, set his sights on Jai, I wouldn’t have understood why, but his need to get to her was validated. She was pale, barely breathing, and her skin was drawn, the fae had taken too much. “Stiles,” his red eyes glared, “break it.”

“Oh, my God! Hold on!” Stiles moved, standing in front of us and broke the circle using not only his hands but the words I had stated to seal it, except he was saying them in perfect Iberian backwards. His eyes went right to mine the moment the walls came down. “What? I listen.”

I couldn’t be mad at him, could I? Not when he did the one thing Jai was supposed to do, but I stopped and pointed at him, inches from his face. “Never use those words again.”

“Right,” he nodded, agreeing with me, hands on his hips like he was nervous, “got it.”

We were beside Jai and Peter, the four of us in a circle around her, but she wasn’t waking up, in fact she was as still as a corpse.

“I have an idea,” Stiles muttered, sitting back on his heels, but the only one listening had been Peter. “Guys, I have an idea.”

“What, Stiles?” Derek had snapped at him very rarely in our presence but this was nothing short of the wolf being terrified.

“The Nemeton.” 

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You want to take her to an ancient tree… a sacred  _ Druid _ tree?”

“It’s more like a stump, really.” 

“No,” Peter whispered, “he’s right, she’s part of another world, part of our world, even if her DNA says otherwise.”

“So, let’s do it.” I looked at the four of them. “Oh, what’s the problem now?”

“It has to want to be found.” Derek sighed, shaking his head.

“You have a sacred tree that likes to play hide and seek?” This just keeps getting better. “Does it have temper tantrums too?”

“Yes,” Stiles snapped, “because it’s an asshole.” He drew in a breath. “But, it might be our only chance.”

“Fine.” I stood, eyes on how easily Peter rose with her in his arms and turned to face the circle. For one moment, everyone was still, because in place of where the fae had fallen, was a mound of bright green grass, and wildflowers. “Ugh! This place sucks. I just want to go home.”

It didn’t really suck, but there was so much that was different inside Beacon Hills, rules and laws of the supernatural that I didn’t understand, and it was frustrating. We wandered as a group for less than thirty minutes without real direction, but it was Jai that told us where we were.

Her eyes opened, almost glowing against the ashen color of her skin, and she focused on something we couldn’t see, at least not until Peter stepped in that direction, just beyond the trunks of two trees. When I stepped around, I stopped. A large trunk, one that looked like it would belong to a red wood, lay in the middle of a small clearing. Peter was the only one to approach, the others seemed to hang back, and I was okay with that. 

The area around the tree vibrated.

He set her down gently, kissed her softly, and then backed away. Jai watched as he left, then slowly let her eyes close fully relaxing onto the tree that seemed to dwarf her as she curled up in the middle of it.

Meer moments passed before something happened, a light orange glow began in the outer rings of the tree before slowly making its way inside, surrounding her. Stiles drew in a breath, Scott caught his arm to keep him from moving forward, and it seemed Peter had the same idea because Derek stopped him. 

The light became so bright, she disappeared from sight, and when it died down, she was sitting up, legs crossed, looking very confused.

Her eyes went to each and everyone of us, until they landed right on me. “Where the hell am I?”

Stiles shook off the hold on his arm and moved right to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she stood from the tree. Jai closed her eyes, hugging him back but when she opened them, they were right back on me.

“Okay,” she gently patted his chest when he finally stepped back, “you’re okay.”

“Don’t ever do that again!” Stiles huffed, placing his hands on her face, and I was waiting for the snap, for when she decided enough was enough, but she just let him look her over. 

“If someone could tell me what happened, then I could probably semi-promise not to do whatever it was that I was supposed to have done again.” She shrugged as he took her hand and moved her towards us. I watched the restraint in Peter’s posture when she finally stopped in front of him. There was a blink, then two, and I could see the question on her face but she never asked it, instead she turned to me. “Can we get the hell out of here? I'm cold and I’m starving.”

“You’re always cold and starving.” This came from Scott, but there was such a smile in his voice that I couldn’t say a word in reply, at least not to him. My eyes were focused on her.

“I agree.” And I did, but it was so funny to watch her walk towards the woods, stop, and look around confused. 

“Would someone mind pointing me in the right direction?” She rolled her head towards us and raised her hands. 

It was odd to see her out of her element, her internal compass thrown off, but if what I understood from reading up on the Nemetons, this wasn’t unusual. Scott jogged over to her, slipped his hand around her’s and led her out of the clearing, with the others soon to follow, but it was Derek that stayed back and accompanied me.

“So, what now?” He whispered, eyes on the group in front of us. 

“Well, we usually finish up and leave, but she might need a day or two.”

Derek smiled, happy about that decision and he looked down as he took my hand, brought it to his lips and nodded. “I think that would be a great idea.”

And I wasn’t going to admit that I loved the way his lips felt on my skin. 

Now all we needed was to get out of these damn woods.


	14. Epilogue

**Chestnut Hill, one week later**

The sun beat down onto the surface of the indoor pool, streaming in through the wide open, retractable roof. Both girls lounged on inflatable chairs in the middle of it, lazily floating about. Jai on her stomach, Gwen sitting up in order to flip through an old tome. 

Dan chose that moment to set the motorized tray in the water and remote controlled it right to the float that Gwen was in. She retrieved the fruity looking drink with the yellow umbrella and smiled a thank you before Dan glanced at Jai, who waved him off with a  _ no, thank you _ without even opening her eyes.

“You know, one of these times one of us is actually going to get into this thing,” she smirked, gesturing towards the water, because while it was great for cross training, neither of them swam for leisure. 

“Pft, I could stay here all day.” Gwen smirked, sipping on the drink.

“I think I’m going to turn into a prune.” Jai flipped over skillfully on the float and looked up at the ceiling, sighing loudly. “Have you heard from the boys?” 

“Sam and Dean should be somewhere in Delaware by now,” Gwen shrugged, glancing at her. “Which means they’ll be up here when the case is done.”

“And the other boys?”

“You know,” Gwen cleared her throat, “if you want to talk to Peter, just pick up the phone. We’ve been home a week, it’s not if there’s a rule about texting them.”

“Don’t do that,” she glared. “Don’t make it out to be more than it is, I’m not dating him, I just don’t want to overstep.”

“Ha! You and Peter _not_ dating, that’s rich.” Gwen shook her head. “You would have brought him home if you could.” Gwen narrowed her eyes at her for a moment. “Does Sam know?”

“Does Dean? Does Cas?” Jai snipped back, but Gwen didn’t answer. “That’s what I thought. Sam knows about Peter, he just doesn’t know everything yet. I need to approach that one cautiously.”

“It’s not like you did anything.” There was no answer from her this time and Gwen sat up slowly. “You didn’t do anything, did you?”

Jai shook her head, “no, he’s just…”

“Intense?”

“There…” she snipped, her hands opened wide as if she were gesturing to him actually standing in front of her, “he’s just there.”

“What about Stiles?” The phone on the concrete lining buzzed with a familiar ringtone and Jai gestured towards it. It was one that had gone off repeatedly all day, every day since they left, but the face Jai made towards it was fond, and not at all irritated. “So, Stiles…”

“Is twenty-eight,” Jai raised a brow and shook her head, “and definitely just a friend.” She flopped back on the float and only turned her head towards her. “Derek?”

“I heard from him the moment we landed and everyday after that.” Gwen grinned, and it was cute, blushy and giddy. 

“Ah-huh, I’m sure  _ heard _ went along with  _ FaceTme _ and videos, but I’m the one  _ not _ dating a werewolf.” She cracked up as she pushed the float further away from Gwen, keeping the prospect of getting tipped over out of the equation. “Argent called the day after, just to check in, and said thanks for the file we left. He appreciated your knives, too. I guess he’s going to see if he can replicate them and send’em back.”

“That would be nice.” Gwen went quiet for a moment, as Jai stared up at the cloudless sky. “It’s going to be weird for a while isn’t it?”

“Not being able to see them unless one or the other fly across the country? Yeah, more than likely. I’m glad Bobby knows all of it, and the boys as much as we could, I just wish…” Jai played with the hem of the tank she wore into the pool. “We could learn so much…”

“You don’t need to learn anything else, even with Cas’ healing, you still look like hell.” Gwen snapped, referring to the still dark circles around Jai’s eyes.

“Guess the Nemeton just didn’t want me to die, but it’s not a heal-all.” She closed her eyes, relaxed onto the chair, and let her body sink into it. The phone at the edge of the water vibrated with a different beat and Jai groaned. “Bloody hell!”

“Your accent is horrible,” Gwen laughed as Jai moved the float to the edge of the water before she hopped off and leaned against the side of the pool. 

“I’m working on it.” Gwen watched as she opened the text, bit down on her lip, and furrowed her brows before turning to her. “So, what do you know about Jenny Greenteeth and Presque Isle?” 

Gwen raised a brow. “Well, I know it looks like we’re off to Erie.”

“Great,” and that was totally sarcastic as Jai lifted herself out of the pool. “I’ll go start packing.”

Gwen waved at her, a smirk on her face, and took a long, slow sip of her drink. 

Leave it to Bobby to do it again. 


End file.
